Invisible Threads: How Workforce Analytics are Protecting the Wellbeing of Nurses and Midwives

Nurses and midwives are the backbone of global healthcare systems, providing care in every setting, from emergency departments to rural birthing units. Yet, they face growing mental, emotional, and physical strain. Chronic understaffing, emotional labour, and unpredictable shift patterns have left many in the profession exhausted and burnt out, and they are in search of support systems that actually work.

While much attention is placed on patient safety and clinical outcomes, the well-being of the workforce delivering this care has too often been overlooked. But what if we could change that, not just through policy but with data?

Today, digital health solutions are being designed to map, monitor, and improve workforce well-being in real time. At the heart of this innovation is the idea that data, processed with empathy and purpose, can give healthcare workers the tools to advocate for themselves, avoid burnout, and build sustainable careers.

The Problem We Can’t Ignore

A 2022 ICN report showed that more than 40% of nurses globally were considering leaving the profession due to burnout, stress, and moral injury [1]. Midwives, particularly in maternity and community settings, face similar challenges: secondary trauma, staff shortages, and the emotional toll of continuous high-stakes care [2].

Workplace distress affects more than individual staff; it impacts patient outcomes, drives up absenteeism, and leads to the long-term loss of skilled professionals. Despite these stakes, many health systems lack effective, real-time tools to track and respond to early warning signs in workforce health.

“Nurses and midwives work across all aspects of health care delivery… making their reach and potential impact substantial.” — Prof. Marion Eckert [3]

If their reach is this wide, so too should be the systems that protect their well-being.

The Rise of Workforce Climate Analytics

In response to these challenges, innovative healthcare and informatics teams are developing real-time workforce climate dashboards, digital tools that translate raw data into actionable wellbeing insights.

These tools gather and analyse:

• HR trends (sick leave, shift changes, resignations)
• Staff-reported wellbeing scores from regular pulse surveys
• Patient loads, acuity, and ward dynamics
• Environmental factors like staffing ratios and incident reports

Using machine learning and statistical modelling, these systems identify when stress indicators are rising, when morale is dipping, and where support is urgently needed.

For example, a sudden increase in unplanned leave combined with rising patient ratios might trigger an alert for supervisory intervention. The resulting action of redistributed workloads, briefings, or peer support can differentiate between manageable fatigue and full-blown burnout.

Designed for People, Not Just Performance

What makes these tools powerful is not just the technology, but how they are co-designed with the people who use them. Nurses and midwives are involved from the beginning in shaping what metrics matter, how insights are displayed, and how privacy and dignity are protected.

Core human-centred design principles include:

• Clarity and Transparency: Workers know what’s being measured and why
• Empowerment: Staff receive insights about their own wellbeing, not just top-down monitoring
• Non-punitive application: Data is used for improvement, not discipline

This approach builds trust, enhances usability, and ensures that technology doesn’t become another burden but becomes a tool for advocacy and sustainability.

What the Data Tells Us and How It Helps?

Real-world implementation of workforce analytics has shown promising outcomes:

• Unplanned absenteeism has decreased where real-time monitoring systems are used
• Staff satisfaction increases when data is used to rebalance workloads before stress peaks
• Retention improves, particularly in high-pressure environments like aged care, maternity, and emergency units

In an example case, visual dashboards can help nursing unit managers identify workload inequities between staff on the same shift. By redistributing patients more equitably, patient care and team morale may improve significantly over a short period.

Most importantly, healthcare staff have reported that when their wellbeing data translated into tangible changes, they felt seen, heard, and supported, something that’s long been missing in institutional settings.

Expanding Impact Across Healthcare

These systems are now being adapted to different contexts:

• Remote and regional health centres, where support staff are limited
• Perinatal and maternity care, where midwives face round-the-clock demands
• Aged care, where emotional labour is prolonged and under-supported

The goal is not just a dashboard; it’s a cultural shift. A future where workforce wellbeing is considered a core safety indicator, on par with infection control or clinical audit scores.

Embedding these analytics into hospital operations and clinical governance frameworks ensures they move from being innovative pilots to essential infrastructure.

Caring for the Carers

Digital health should never replace clinicians; it should be about restoring them. When built with humanity at its core, workforce analytics offer a powerful way to identify risk, distribute care more equitably, and provide early support to those bearing the emotional and physical weight of the healthcare system.

By making the invisible visible and turning data into action, these tools help us protect healthcare's greatest asset: the people who deliver it.

References

1. International Council of Nurses. Nursing Workforce Sustainability and Retention Report. ICN; 2022.
2. Filby A, McConville F, Portela A. What prevents quality midwifery care? Lancet. 2016;387(10017):1611–1622.
3. University of South Australia. Nurses and midwives plead the case for more research funding. 2022. Available: https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2022/nurses-and-midwives-plead-the-case-for-more-research-funding/