The hidden reserve of nurses and teachers in the Netherlands

Melline Somers, Lara Fleck, Wim Groot and Frits van Merode

International Journal of Manpower, 2025, vol. 46, issue 7, 1337-1355

Abstract: PurposeMany high-income countries experience significant staff shortages in healthcare and education. Both the nurse and teacher occupations have a high outflow due to retirement and difficulties in attracting and retaining workers. The aim of this study is to estimate the magnitude of the so-called hidden reserves among individuals who have been trained to work as a nurse or a teacher. Our study also offers insights into differences in the working conditions of workers employed in the healthcare or education sectors and those belonging to the hidden reserve.Design/methodology/approachUsing register data, we estimate the magnitude of these hidden reserves in the Netherlands. We define the hidden reserve as individuals who obtained a nursing or teaching diploma but are not employed in the healthcare or education sector. Our definition of the hidden reserve also encompasses the number of additional hours that part-time workers could supply to reach a full-time working week. We analyze differences in the working conditions by using survey data.FindingsWe show that the hidden reserves among (former) nurses and teachers by far exceed the current staff shortages. Moreover, our analysis reveals that inactive nurses and teachers perceive several working conditions more favorably than their active counterparts.Originality/valueFew studies have attempted to estimate the size of nurse and teacher reserve pools. This study quantifies the hidden reserve for occupational subgroups using detailed register data and offers insight into the reasons why workers leave the nursing and teaching profession.

Keywords: Labor shortage; Teachers; Nurses; Employee turnover; Hours of work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijmpps:ijm-07-2024-0491

DOI: 10.1108/IJM-07-2024-0491

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