Sweden’s elderly care faces a staffing crisis: “Pay caregivers more than grocery clerks.”

Former care worker Jakob Hedin Mårdh asks a direct question to politicians: Who is going to look after the country’s growing number of elderly people? His answer is simple. To attract more staff to elderly care, the job must offer decent working conditions and a wage that covers living costs. Mårdh argues that without better pay and respect, the sector will continue to lose workers to other low-wage jobs, such as supermarket checkouts. He insists that caring for the elderly must be valued higher than unskilled retail work.