Abstract
The notion of resilience at work has gained considerable attention in recent years, as workplaces face constant change, uncertainty, and stress. Resilience is typically understood as the ability to bounce back from adversity, adapt to change, and maintain performance under pressure. However, the concept of resilience at work is complex and the contextual factors that shape its effectiveness are multileveled. Recent criticism argues that resilience is over-conceptualised as an individualised construct and the emphasis should, instead, be on structural aspects that enhance sustainability.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK), is one of the largest employers globally, and is composed of a highly diverse workforce with 24% of staff from ethnic minority groups, compared to 18% of the UK population as a whole (NHS Improvement, 2019). 19.5 percent of healthcare workers are migrants from overseas (Baker, 2023). This paper analyses data from an NIHR sponsored project using administrative data from the whole NHS workforce and finds, as a starting point, evidence to counter to media reports of high departure rates (The Express, Dec 29th 2024; Russell, 2023; Sky News, Feb 21st 2023). Following periods of workforce instability affected by Brexit, COVID, and the cost-of-living crisis, rates of leaving the NHS are reducing. Notable here, are patterns amongst ethnic minorities and migrant workers. Whilst existing evidence suggests that this group in particular face high levels of discrimination (Shields, 2000), disproportionate disciplinary action, poor line management and are more likely to signal a higher intention to leave, pockets of good organisation practice might be encouraging actual retention.
We might wish to frame this as positive in workforce management and evidence of individual resilience, however it can also be the case that fewer labour market options are be available to ethnic minorities, given the labour market discrimination they face. This creates a workforce that, superficially might be termed ‘resilient’, but might be demotivated and lacking productivity.
This working paper sets out early findings make a case for a fuller follow-on investigation that will inform theoretical debates of leaving and staying in the workplace. We adopt a structuralist perspective on ‘resilience’ to evaluate workplace mechanisms that might be encouraging retention, whilst also looking for the effects of disengagement, discrimination and fatigue.