The phrase “workforce shortage” is a catchall for an existential problem in healthcare: There are not enough workers. But the term glosses over a critical element underpinning this so-called shortage: Most healthcare professionals who leave the industry are not rejecting healthcare as a career; they’re rejecting work structures that leave little room for the realities of their lives and the heavy emotional toll that working in healthcare can take.
This growing mismatch between how healthcare work is structured and what today’s workforce needs is what we call the “flexibility gap.” The distinction may seem like semantics, but defining this decades-old problem accurately can help uncover new solutions.
Why the flexibility gap exists
Healthcare’s workforce model was built for a different era, when fixed, rigid schedules were possible and maximized operational predictability. This model assumes workers can still organize their lives around institutional needs.
But today’s healthcare professionals are balancing personal caregiving responsibilities, financial pressures, and a growing awareness of mental health and burnout. The structure of work has not evolved at the same pace as the workforce. As a result, workers are simply opting out. This creates the appearance of a workforce shortage, but what is really happening is that professionals are taking on other opportunities or leaving the workforce altogether. There ARE enough healthcare workers. There just aren’t enough who are willing or capable of working full time or rigid schedules.
The flexibility gap is widening
As experienced nurses reach retirement age and education pipelines remain constrained, healthcare facilities will increasingly depend on attracting and retaining trained professionals.
At the same time, younger generations are reevaluating traditional “hero job” narratives around healthcare, balancing a desire for flexibility and mental wellbeing with the opportunity to make a meaningful difference through their work.
To close this widening flexibility gap, companies will need to take a more flexible, human-centered approach to care delivery — one that honors individual needs and preferences instead of forcing conformity to an existing system.
Flexibility as a workforce strategy
Organizations that embrace flexible work gain the capacity to respond to fluctuating demand with agility, while protecting quality and continuity of care. Flexible work also acknowledges the diverse needs of multigenerational teams, enabling more professionals to remain in the industry.
Increasingly, healthcare facilities are strengthening their workforces by combining internal teams with broader networks of qualified professionals who can step in as needed.
They’re challenging a long-held and outdated assumption in healthcare: that hiring is the only way to deliver continuity of care. Some rely on internal PRN networks; others use technology platforms to connect with a flexible workforce.
Regardless of the model, companies who are willing to embrace diverse models of work are beginning to close the flexibility gap that is pushing many professionals away from traditional healthcare roles.
Closing the flexibility gap counters burnout
One of the clearest consequences of the flexibility gap is burnout, a major driver of workforce turnover in healthcare.
Each year, new studies and surveys reveal how burnout undermines care delivery while exacting a toll on healthcare-professional mental health. Staffing Industry Analysts recently reported that 66% of healthcare professionals are considering leaving the industry, with a staggering 76% reporting burnout. Another 84% said there are not enough professionals to meet patient needs.
Findings from our "Solutions to Healthcare Burnout Report" surfaced similar concerns in 2024. In that survey, 81% of healthcare professionals reported experiencing burnout, and 94% said they had made personal sacrifices for work, including missing weddings, funerals and graduations.
The structure of work is burning them out, not just the work itself.
Yes, the work of healthcare is taxing and emotional, but healthcare professionals remain deeply connected to their roles despite the challenges. In our 2025 “Senior Care Workforce 360 Survey,” 89% of employees and 96% of independent professionals said they keep coming back because of the people they serve.
Flexible work gives these professionals the ability to remain in the careers they love while regaining control over the personal moments that matter most. It also ensures that facilities, residents and patients continue to benefit from their experience and institutional knowledge.
Evidence from flexible workforce models reinforces this point. In our “Empowered Workforce Report,” we surveyed 2,400 independent professionals who use the ShiftKey platform Nearly three out of four (71%) respondents reported caregiving responsibilities at home, whether caring for children, partners, or other family members.
More than two-thirds said the flexibility they found through the platform was a key factor in enabling their return to the healthcare workforce. Nearly one-third (32%) reported that they would not be able to remain in healthcare without the schedule flexibility these models provide.
These findings highlight a clear reality: For many healthcare professionals, flexibility makes staying in the healthcare workforce possible.
Closing the flexibility gap is inclusive
I am the proud mother of two beautiful boys. Like many mothers, I balance my career with my family. Being a working mom can be challenging at times, constantly juggling the demands of my job and showing up to be present for my kids. I am fortunate enough to be able to structure my time around the milestones in my boys’ lives, but I know that this is a privilege not all working caregivers have. Which is why I fight so hard for it.
Millions of healthcare professionals navigate tradeoffs every day. Most are women, who make up 80% of the U.S. healthcare workforce. Women also shoulder the majority of caregiving responsibilities, accounting for 65% of care provided to partners, parents, children and grandchildren.
Much of this caregiving is unpaid. According to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, 47.8 million of the nation’s 59 million caregivers receive no compensation. Many face financial strain: A quarter report taking on debt, half report negative financial consequences from caregiving responsibilities and one in five struggle to cover basic needs.
The National Partnership for Women and Families estimates that if this caregiving were compensated, its value would exceed $1 trillion annually.
Many healthcare professionals spend their days caring for patients and their evenings caring for family. Rigid schedules push many out of the workforce entirely, forcing a choice between their careers and their personal responsibilities. Closing the flexibility gap means designing work that reflects the realities of the people who deliver care.
Moving toward a supported workforce
The healthcare workforce shortage is often framed as a shortage of professionals willing to do the work. In reality, it is a shortage of work structures that reflect the realities of modern life. Our current laws and policies make this type of work harder to access.
Healthcare professionals are not walking away from the work itself. They are walking away from systems that make it impossible to sustain that work alongside caregiving responsibilities, personal wellbeing and the other commitments that shape their lives.
Closing the flexibility gap may be one of the most important steps our healthcare system can take to stabilize the workforce. Those that embrace more flexible, human-centered models will retain more professionals — and strengthen the healthcare system we all depend on.
About Regan Parker
For over 15 years, Regan has advised companies on technology, products, processes, operations, communications and legislative strategies. She is a leading expert on the future of work and the legal, regulatory and policy challenges around it. Regan holds a juris doctorate from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and is a published author and public speaker.
Additional sources
“Healthcare Clinicians’ Concerns Mount, 66% Weigh Leaving Industry,” (SIA).
“Exclusive: AARP-NAC Report Finds 45% Increase in Americans Providing Care,” (AARP).
“Caregiving in the US 2025,” (AARP).
“Americans’ Unpaid Caregiving is Worth More than $1 Trillion Annually – and Women are Doing Two-Thirds of The Work,” (The National Partnership for Women and Families).
“Healthcare Occupations,” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
