By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
During a recent workshop on Leading a Multigenerational Workforce, a nurse leader asked about giving her Generation Z staff authentic recognition. I asked her for some examples of what she is seeing right now:
So it seems that some of my staff have gotten high-fives their whole life for basic behaviors that don’t warrant recognition. I spoke with one of my new graduates, who was upset because I did not recognize her for not using an unplanned PTO day for two weeks. She was serious about this. Unplanned leave usage is something that I have spoken to her about in the past. Coming to work should be a basic expectation, but interestingly enough, she had a different viewpoint. Am I wrong to think this way?
This leader raises an interesting question. We know that recognition that is fulfilling, authentic, equitable, and personalized to the individual is critical for cultivating an environment where nurses can thrive. Gen Z is altering prior perceptions about what it means to feel valued at work. This generational cohort has grown up in a world of instant feedback and digital rewards; they expect frequent acknowledgment of their contributions. These changes are especially hard for Baby Boomers and Generation X leaders who grew up under more traditional leadership structures where no news was good news from their leaders. That leadership approach won’t work today. While you don’t need to give everyone a trophy for every situation, leaders must provide more feedback today.
One common challenge is getting staff to complete their mandatory educational reviews. A nurse leader recently told me that compliance was so slow on her unit that she recently gamified it and has a leader board for everyone who finishes. She mused that the prizes and competition have motivated staff more than my nagging about it. She acknowledged that she would never have done this in the past; after all, it should be a professional expectation, but times have changed, and so must leaders.
As we discussed in this case, there is a way to make this a win-win without being disingenuous. While the expectation that you show up to work on time may not warrant recognition, you could, as a leader, recognize that this young nurse took personal action and established an improvement plan that is working. She took ownership of the need to change and is demonstrating progress. That behavior is worth recognizing, you can give a high-five for, and provide a valuable lesson learned to be applied to other situations.
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