Fundamental for workforce satisfaction, long-term retention and the safety of patients is good morale and wellbeing. Despite this, our second spotlight reveals evidence of declining job satisfaction, high levels of stress and low morale in the workplace. 

Using data from the 2025 workforce census, spotlight two explores a number of wellbeing determinants, from burnout indicators to the quality of facilities and development opportunities. It also considers the experiences of pathologists at a department and organisational level.  

Key findings from spotlight 2 include:   

• 38% of respondents said their job satisfaction had decreased in the last year.  

• Half of pathologists cite excessive workload as a factor negatively impacting their wellbeing at work, with 54% of pathologists not having sufficient time each day to get through their daily workload. 

• Pathologists are more likely to feel heard, valued, empowered, trusted and supported within their department than within their wider organisation.  

• Over a third of pathologists state they are not given the time they need to complete their professional development activities or given the time they need to participate in the development of the pathology profession. 

You can read the full spotlight here:

You can read our first census spotlight focusing on retirements, working patterns and sustainability of pathology services here.

What's next?

The next spotlight, set to be published in September 2025, will focus on pathologists in training and will dive deeper into the findings that informed our response to the NHSE Medical Training Review.   

The findings from these spotlights and wider census analysis will be used to advocate for the pathology workforce when communicating with key stakeholders and government officials. We will also utilise this data to support our specialty-specific publications and when responding to calls for evidence.