Staff retention – the hidden issue in design and organizing of healthcare facilities

Research highlights • The aim of the short paper is to set the problem and define the possible drivers for future research in exploring the relationship between healthcare built environment and staff retention • Today the physical environment, the architecture, of healthcare facilities is considered having various effects on patients and staff • Especially in the western world healthcare staff shrinking and ageing will have a significant impact • Hospital organizations are defining strategies for staff retention improvement • Usually, this issue concerns management of risk, leadership and motivational aspects but the built environment might as well play a role in this process • In the recent COVID-19 pandemic these issues have been raised considering staff burn out and stress • Future research will need to deepen the relationship between staff retention and physical space of healthcare settings starting from the proposed framework