Keeping an Eye on Generation Z Nurses

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Dr. Jean Twenge, researcher and author of the book Generations, noted, “The breakneck speed of cultural change means that growing up today is a completely different experience from growing up in the 1950s, or 1980s or even the 2000s. These changes have impact. The era when you were born has a substantial influence on your behaviors, attitudes, values and personality traits. In fact, when you were born has a larger effect on your personality and attitudes than the family that raised you has. Generational change is not just about individual people changing – it is about shifting cultural norms.”

Nurse leaders are seeing very different behaviors in our newest generation of nurses, Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2102. They view their careers and the profession of nursing differently from previous generations. Nursing is less a calling and more a career or job. Our current nursing workforce models are built on tracking the behaviors of earlier generations across time. The models assume that workforce participation and behaviors will remain the same with every new generation that enters the workforce. But what leaders see today is very different from what we have seen in the past, and we need to keep an eye on five trends being reported, which include the following:

Generation Z Nurse Turnover Remains High While Workforce Turnover is Stabilizing. As noted in Monday’s blog, nursing workforce turnover in acute care settings has steadily declined over the past two years. Turnover in the first two years of practice is 56.9% and shows little progress.
Generation Z Nurses have Lower Baseline Mental Health. Emerging research indicates that mental health is declining across generational groups. Generation Z nurses seem to understand this about themselves and now focus on their mental health and well-being. With the high volumes and acuity in hospital environments, these settings are not viewed as long-term employers of choice for this generation of nurses.
Generation Z Nurses are Working Fewer Hours. Gallup predicted that we would begin to see a gig or contract workforce. Their research indicates that Generation Z employees are at the forefront of this change. Nurse leaders now report that Generation Z nurses enter practice, complete residency programs, and reduce their hours worked.
Generation Z Nurses are Worried about their Physical and Psychological Safety. The US Department of Labor is now characterizing work in healthcare environments as being hazardous due to rising violence and incivility from patients and families. Without a reduction in the level of violence and incivility, nursing and healthcare could become much less desirable as an occupation.
Generation Z Nurses are Entrepeuneurial. Many Generation Z nurses tell their leaders they want to own a business rather than work for an organization. Nurse managers report that some already have lucrative side gigs outside of healthcare. Nursing workforce models are built on the assumption that nurses will work most, if not their entire career, within healthcare settings because this is a historic trend.

Nurse leaders need to keep an eye on these trends. Our assumptions about our workforce are that they will behave the same way they have in the past, but this could be flawed reasoning. Thinking like a futurist has never been more critical. The mantra of the futurist is to learn, unlearn, and relearn. We need to be aware of the filters that we have when trying to evaluate change. Sometimes, when we have a great deal of experience in an area, we can be the victim of sunk cost bias where we keep investing in what we already know or have done in the past. Our filtration systems can lead us to unconsciously discount what we see in our environment because they do not line up with our established perspectives.

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