Employer Branding and COVID-19: A Job Demand–Resource Model for Employee Attraction and Retention in Health Sector

Abstract

The healthcare sector includes a gamut of products and services, from manufacturing medical equipment/drugs and managing medical insurance to providing medical services. Professionals, including doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers, clinicians and other allied healthcare professionals, form the bulk of the human resources in the healthcare sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these workers were at the forefront of delivering preventive, palliative and curative health services. During this time, health sector employees faced enormous challenges at work, resulting in burnout and, thus, a higher rate of resignation. With burnout reported among healthcare professionals, the already overburdened health system had started crumbling and desperately needed human resources. Moreover, job seekers were reluctant to apply to the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, a dual challenge exists for healthcare organisations to attract and retain new employees. To overcome these challenges, companies in the healthcare industry need to brand themselves as one of the best employers, which could help attract and retain job seekers. Hence, this article proposes a theoretical model for attracting and retaining job seekers in the health sector based on the job demands–resources model. This article also suggests some propositions that could be later empirically tested.