This article examines recent campaigns for the Collective Agreement “Relief” (Tarifvertrag “Entlastung”; TV-E); a trade union initiative by Hospital Movement in Germany to secure binding staffing ratios. Based on ethnographic research conducted in a hospital during a TV-E campaign in 2023–24; it shows how chronic understaffing not only degrades nurses’ working conditions but also jeopardizes patient safety. Nurses consistently frame sufficient time with patients as integral to “good care;” which they link to an ethical responsibility toward both patients and colleagues. Yet this responsibility is increasingly constrained by hospital reforms that impose market logics of efficiency and cost-cutting. TV-E campaigns therefore represent more than workplace disputes: they are a collective pushback against the economization of hospitals. The article argues that guaranteeing adequate staffing is essential to uphold nurses’ professional identity; reduce attrition; and ensure safe; high-quality care. In doing so; it underscores the urgent need for legal instruments to protect staffing as a foundation of sustainable nursing work.
European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
Chapter Title
Nursing under Pressure: Why Ensuring Adequate Staffing Levels is Crucial for Good Care and Employee Retention in German Hospitals
Authors
Ziga Podgornik Jakil
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1029-4.14
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
CARE4CARE - We Care for Those Who Care - Vol. III
Book Subtitle
Building Dignified Care Work in Europe: Critical Reflections, Policy Proposals and Practical Tools
Editors
Maria Luisa Vallauri, William Chiaromonte
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
408
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1029-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1028-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1029-4
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-1030-0
Series Title
Studi sul lavoro di cura - Studies on Care Work