2026 Laboratory Workforce Outlook: What Lab Professionals Are Saying About Pay, Staffing & Morale

How do your experience and compensation in the laboratory compare with that of your peers? What should laboratory leaders take away from what their teams are telling them?

Join Lighthouse Lab Services on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for our annual examination of laboratory compensation, staffing, and morale, featuring findings from our 2026 Wage and Morale Survey of Medical Laboratory Professionals.

Joe Kessler, Executive Director of Recruiting and Staffing at Lighthouse Lab Services, will explore this year’s results and discuss what they mean for the people working in laboratories and the leaders responsible for supporting them. Drawing on the survey results and Lighthouse’s work connecting laboratories with qualified professionals, Joe will translate the findings into practical considerations for career planning, recruiting, and retention.

Discussion topics will include:

- Compensation Trends: How surveyed professionals report their pay and raises, and how this year’s findings compare with previous surveys.
- Staffing and Morale: What respondents say about staffing levels, workload, and their satisfaction at work.
- Recruiting and Retention: How laboratories can use workforce feedback to inform hiring strategies and better support existing teams.
- Career Considerations: How laboratory professionals can use the findings to put their own experiences into context and guide conversations about compensation and workplace needs.

Whether you work at the bench, manage a laboratory team, or oversee staffing decisions, this session will offer a clear view of the current state laboratory workforce and practical insights to help you plan your next career or hiring steps.

This webinar is designed for:

• Bench-level laboratory professionals
• Laboratory managers and supervisors
• Laboratory Directors
• Leadership responsible for hiring in the laboratory
• Executives interested in a broad look at the hiring landscape