Managing Staff Expectations

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

Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett’s lifelong friend and professional colleague. He is well known for his practical advice and life wisdom. Charlie has been quoted as saying the following:

“The first rule of a happy life is low expectations. If you have unrealistic expectations, you will be miserable your whole life. You want to have reasonable expectations and take life’s results, good and bad, as they happen with a certain amount of stoicism.”

I thought about this quote after a recent conversation with a group of nurse managers. I asked the managers why nurse turnover was so high in the first two years of practice. One leader nurse leader said she had thought a great about this and feels it comes down to expectations. She related the following:

After many conversations with new graduates who told me that “nursing is not what they thought it would be,” I started asking about expectations when interviewing new staff. Not surprisingly, many recent graduates were very unrealistic about nursing. Some told me that they were looking for “the perfect job.” When I asked what that meant – it usually involved getting the schedules they wanted, light patient assignments, and quickly building friendships at work. When I would tell them they needed to manage their expectations about the professional transition to practice – it seemed like a foreign concept. I don’t think this is being taught in our nursing programs. Disappointment about unmet expectations is a massive driver of turnover. I am now very blunt about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I don’t think some new graduates believe me, but honesty is the best strategy. 

This nurse manager makes an important point. An essential fact that can impact our well-being is unmet expectations. Our expectations are based on our values — what is most important to us. Social media does little to help us manage our expectations when most of those posting only post the best parts of their lives – their highlight reels. We have expectations about what life will or should be like, and then we project what is important to us onto others. We expect others to act as we would – to value what we value. When they don’t, it can trigger a strong emotional response, resulting in stress and anxiety.

All of us have expectations. When our expectations are unmet, we react emotionally without understanding why. Sometimes, this has a toll on our well-being. 2023 has been a turbulent time in healthcare. There are huge generational shifts in the workforce, and with that comes a change in values and beliefs about nursing. Helping new nurses to lower and manage their expectations might help them to achieve a high level of well-being in 2024.

© emergingrnleader.com 2023

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