In September 2011, CSMLS members were asked to participate in a survey to determine their intentions towards retirement and to examine the key factors surrounding retention. The survey was conducted by Karan Greenock as part of her requirements from Ryerson University bachelor’s in Health Administration practicum. CSMLS is an official practicum site for Ryerson University. Greenock decided to survey those in the medical laboratory profession to determine their intentions towards retirement and to examine the key factors surrounding retention. In 2006, the CSMLS estimated that by 2015, 50 per cent of the profession would be eligible to retire (based on the early retirement age of 55). However, following the global economic crisis, Greenock questioned if early retirement was still a realistic option for most lab professionals and if the projected retirement numbers were still accurate. Anecdotal information seemed to suggest that many medical laboratory professionals were staying in the workforce.
The survey was distributed via the CSMLS eNEWS, which was opened by 4,151 people. The survey itself received 716 responses (English 656 and French 60 which indicates the survey is statistically trustworthy). That is a response rate of 17.2 per cent. Over half (54 per cent) of the respondents were Medical Laboratory Technologists and 68 per cent listed a hospital setting as their primary place of employment.
A demographic illustration was made using the information collected through the survey. The most valuable information came from data on age and eligibility of retirement.
- 63.7 per cent equal to or greater than 50 years of age
- 20 per cent of participants will be eligible for their primary workplace pension in less than one year, (2012)
- 49 per cent in five years, 2016
- 63 per cent within the next eight years
The results show that the statistics in 2006 are fairly accurate, that a large portion of professionals will be eligible to retire. However, the other half of the survey looked at why so many of them were staying, when they could retire. The decision to retire is based on many co-mingling factors such as health, financial status, stress and family.
An astounding 99 per cent of participants agreed with the statement, “I believe my work is important”. Participants are proud of the work they do, feel lucky and find their day-to-day activities interesting and challenging. The respondents may also enjoy their work because of the people they work with. Eighty per cent of participants perceive their environment as safe evident between medical laboratory professionals within the laboratory.
However, only 28 per cent see opportunity for advancement within their profession. It could also be that this group is already quite experienced, as 75 per cent indicate they have decision-making roles and work with little to no supervision. It indicates that once a professional reaches a certain level in the industry the laboratory organizational structure is fairly flat. This data suggests that professionals may need to leave the industry to further their careers.
If this is true, some of the answers indicate people are indeed not leaving the field. Twenty per cent of respondents said they had no reasons for leaving their job, meaning they have not had a job change. It wouldn’t be hard to believe considering that 75 per cent felt adequately compensated for their work, eliminating the drive for higher wages as a reason to leave the job. Participants offered suggestions on key factors that could help retain qualified MLTs. The highest rated factors included; compensation/parity with other health professions, professional recognition and adequate staffing/work life balance.
From the survey results, Greenock offers her conclusions:
- The profession will experience a retirement bubble in the next few years
- If MLTs have certain key factors as listed above, they will remain in the profession longer
- Employers should look at these key factors to plan retention strategies to help mitigate the challenge posed by the looming retirement bubble
In addition, Greenock says the projected retirement will leave a harsh burden on those left in the profession. Those technologists left behind will have to shift to fill the gap left by the senior level technologists (managers, supervisors, equipment experts, super-users, etc) who have retired. There will be an accelerated learning curve for those individuals as they will not have the usual years of experience under their belts before taking on these new roles.
Projected retirement rates do indeed pose an issue to the profession. CSMLS is dedicated to facilitating the discussions required to mitigate those issues and plan for the future.
We thank all the members who participated in the study. Also, thank you to Karan Greenock for conducting and sharing the results of this study.