Nurses and health professionals have been adapting the way they work and molding their careers to allow for a more flexible, empowered way of working. Now, in 2025, healthcare facilities are being asked to consider the evolving priorities of the new generation of nurses. It’s becoming increasingly important to nurses and health professionals to feel that their requests are taken into consideration, and even more important that healthcare facilities are willing to partner with them to create a safer, healthier work environment.
During Nurses Week, Medely wanted to dive into the specifics of what nurses and health professionals are looking for in their career and promote tangible steps for healthcare facilities to ensure a satisfied and confident workforce.
Last year, Medely surveyed nurses and health professionals to understand how nurses and health professionals wanted to be appreciated in the workplace. After establishing a baseline last year, this year, Medely surveyed almost 350 nurses and health professionals to learn how their sentiments have changed over the year, what new priorities have been introduced, and how healthcare facilities can come alongside as a partner for healthcare workers.
Burnout
Burnout is a word that continues to dominate the conversation when it comes to healthcare workers. And while it may seem redundant, the effects it has on the healthcare industry continue to be catastrophic. Burnout isn’t just an individual healthcare worker problem–it’s a systemic one.
Tackling burnout is a team effort by both healthcare workers and healthcare facilities. When nurses and health professionals are burnt out, healthcare workers aren’t the only ones suffering; ultimately, it gets redirected to the patients, and quality of care suffers. Long-term burnout can also lead to more serious consequences for nurses and health professionals than just job turnover. Burnout can lead to lowered mental health, which can increase the risk for potential substance abuse, self-harm, or even suicide.
Levels of burnout have decreased
Compared to last year’s survey, levels of exhaustion and burnout are down in 2025, but only slightly. This year’s survey found that 58.4% of respondents had experienced burnout and exhaustion in their career over the past year, while last year, 60% of respondents shared that they were experiencing burnout. The slight decrease is positive, but with less than 2% change year-over-year, it shows that the needle hasn’t moved significantly when talking about reducing overall burnout.
While almost 60% of nurses and health professionals are still experiencing burnout, over the past year, there have been some changes in the severity of burnout that nurses and health professionals are experiencing. 50% of respondents shared that they had no change in their levels of burnout, either positive or negative, 26.5% shared that their burnout levels had increased over the past year, and 23.5% shared that their burnout levels had reduced over the past year.
Lack of appreciation in the workplace
For respondents who answered yes to experiencing burnout, they were then prompted to choose what the drivers for their burnout and exhaustion were. Options included ‘lack of appreciation in the workplace,’ ‘lack of competitive compensation,’ ‘long hours,’ ‘patient ratios,’ ‘lack of flexibility,’ and ‘other.’
The highest response was ‘lack of appreciation in the workplace,’ with 72.2% of respondents choosing that option. At the core, nurses and health professionals want to feel like their work is appreciated. But with lack of appreciation as the highest driver of burnout, this shows that healthcare facilities aren’t showing that appreciation to their nurses and health professionals, leaving them feeling even more stressed, unappreciated, and unnoticed. Appreciation doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. According to last year’s survey, gifts and gift cards were the top options for showing appreciation, but it can also look like saying a simple ‘thank you’ or acknowledging that nurses and health professionals are a critical part of the healthcare workforce.
Lack of competitive compensation
Shortly behind lack of appreciation was lack of competitive compensation, with 69.1% of respondents citing it as a reason for burnout. This isn’t a new finding as our survey last year found that 75% of nurses and health professionals shared that compensation is a motivator when choosing a shift. Nurses and health professionals continue to search for better rates that fit the labor-intensive, emotionally-laborious work that comes with working in healthcare. As nurses and health professionals search for a place to feel appreciated, many are turning to healthcare facilities for competitive rates to keep up with the rising cost of living.
Long hours, patient ratios, and lack of flexibility
While lack of appreciation and lack of competitive compensation were the two highest-chosen causes of burnout, there were a few other factors that made an impact on burnout rates. 50.2% of respondents shared that long hours contributed to burnout, 43.4% shared that patient ratios were a contributor, and 32.9% shared that lack of flexibility was a cause of burnout.
All of these factors can be attributed to healthcare facilities’ suboptimal levels of staffing that have only grown worse over the years. Lack of appropriate staff leads to lengthened hours for full-time staff, unbalanced nurse-to-patient ratios, and a lack of flexibility in choosing what hours to work. Because of this, nurses and health professionals are turning to newer ways of working, like per diem work, that allow them to work shorter hours, have reduced nurse-to-patient ratios, and offer the ability to work when it works for them, reducing burnout and exhaustion in the workplace.
With Medely’s Talent Marketplace, healthcare facilities can easily solve these problems in a cost-efficient manner. When a need arises, whether that’s an unexpected callout, planned staff vacation, or even an increased level of patient demand, facilities can post a shift to our marketplace of over 300,000 nurses and health professionals across the country. Pre-vetted, credentialed nurses and health professionals can then pick up those shifts, allowing flexibility for those who are prioritizing that in their career. This allows healthcare facilities to ensure top performance, reducing burnout in their workforce and ensuring consistent patient care.
More nurses and health professionals are seeking flexible work
As nurses and health professionals are looking to reduce their burnout and create a better work-life balance, more are turning to marketplaces like Medely to achieve that. When asked the main reasons they signed up for Medely, flexibility won out as the top reason, with 84.6% of respondents sharing that was the main reason they signed up for Medely.
Flexibility allows nurses and health professionals to create a more robust personal life that offers them reprieve from the burnout they’re feeling in their career. This can include pursuing passions, starting a business, spending time with family and friends, working on their mental health, or a plethora of other things. In fact, as younger generations enter the workforce, more are looking for a flexible schedule compared to full-time work. According to a survey from Deloitte, in 2024, “45% of Gen Zs and 36% of millennials say they have either a part- or full-time paying side job.”
As healthcare facilities look for new ways to retain staff and fill gaps, the desire for flexibility isn’t going away. 71.8% of respondents shared that picking up shifts with Medely had allowed them to see a positive impact on their work-life balance, and as burnout continues, a more flexible work schedule is only going to grow in popularity.
Impact on healthcare facilities
Alongside a flexible schedule, more nurses and health professionals are turning to Medely to work at different facilities. Many nurses and health professionals don’t want to stay at the same facility for long periods of time due to office politics, the desire for new challenges, access to a wider range of staff they can learn from, and better compensation. Working at different facilities offers nurses and health professionals a more well-rounded experience, creating a smarter, more adept workforce that can impact patient care and create positive patient experiences.
Additionally, nurses and health professionals are looking to work at different facilities so they can find a facility that matches their personality, work style, specialty, and more. Picking up shifts at different facilities allows them to seek out the best facility for them, and, in turn, allows facilities to “trial” different nurses and health professionals without the need to hire them as full-time staff.
When facilities find a nurse or health professional who works well for their facility, they can favorite them to call back first for later shifts, which allows for better continuity of care, increased team satisfaction, and reduced time spent orienting a new healthcare worker. According to this year’s survey, 96% of respondents shared that they were favorited by at least 1 facility, if not more.
42.9% of respondents shared that they had been favorited at 1-3 facilities, 34.2% shared that they had been favorited by 6+ facilities, and 22.9% cited that they had been favorited by 4-5 facilities.
Not only are these nurses and health professionals favorited, but they’re picking up shifts on a consistent basis. 24.7% chose ‘other’ as to how often they’re picking up shifts at facilities they’re favorited at, with common answers including when facilities have a need, when their schedules allow, and every few months. 19.8% shared that they’re picking up shifts at facilities they’re favorited at once a month, 17.2% shared that they’re picking up shifts at a facility they’re favorited at once a week, and 15.9% shared that they’re picking up a shift at a facility they’re favorited at twice a week.
With a solution like Medely, facilities have total control over when they send shifts to their favorites based on their scheduling needs, patient demands, budgets, and more. Ultimately, this leaves facilities fully in charge of their staffing strategy without having to spend extra money to hire a full-time staff member when they’re not needed.
Celebrate nurses every week
One of Medely’s core missions has always been to allow nurses and health professionals the freedom and flexibility they need to achieve a well-rounded, balanced life–something healthcare workers have been striving to achieve for a long time in a chaotic, unpredictable environment. As nurses and health professionals share what they’re prioritizing in their career, it’s becoming exceedingly important for facilities to take the problems that healthcare workers face seriously. Healthcare facilities that take into account what nurses and health professionals desire in a career are going to stand out, and ultimately, see better retention rates, lower turnover, and better patient outcomes.
As Nurses Week begins, it’s important to factor in what nurses and health professionals are looking for in their careers and accommodate their concerns, struggles, and most efficient ways of working.
Are you a nurse or health professional looking to find a better work-life balance? Start your free profile with Medely here.
Are you a healthcare facility looking to book vetted nurses and health professionals? Schedule a demo here.
