{"id":2622,"date":"2024-03-27T14:45:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T21:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medely.com\/blog\/?p=2622"},"modified":"2025-03-18T14:51:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T21:51:48","slug":"attract-younger-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medely.com\/blog\/attract-younger-nurses\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Attract Younger Nurses and Retain Gen Z and Millennials at Your Healthcare Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As America\u2019s workforce ages and millions enter retirement age, Gen Z and Millennial nurses and healthcare professionals will become a majority of the healthcare workforce.\u00a0In order to remain competitive and recruit top talent, healthcare facilities need to explore how to attract younger nurses and what younger workers are looking for in a career, how facilities can retain a younger workforce, and what makes them tick.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n


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Gen Z and Millennial Nurses\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

\r\n\r\nGen Z: 1997-2012<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nMillennials: 1981-1996<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nAccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023<\/a>, there were over 2M registered nurses from ages 16-44. (Note: The oldest Millennial in 2024 is 43, so there\u2019s a bit of overlap between the youngest Gen X members and the oldest Millennial nurses.)\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nAs nurses in the Baby Boomer generation start to retire, maintaining a healthy, sustainable workforce<\/a> will be crucial, especially in the midst of major staffing shortages<\/a>. And, with high rates of burnout among younger nurses, working to attract younger nurses and retain Gen Z and Millennial workers is going to be important to keep facilities fully-staffed.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nBurnout is prevalent among both Millennial and Gen Z generations. In a 2023 survey <\/a>from the American Nurses Foundation<\/a>, 69% of nurses 25 and under, 72% of nurses ages 25-34, and 64% of nurses ages 35-44 are experiencing some level of burnout.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n


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What\u2019s causing Gen Z and Millennial Nurses to burn out?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe COVID-19 pandemic played a huge role in such high levels of burnout. New data<\/a> from the American Nurses Foundation shares that younger nurses \u201cwere more likely to have experienced an extremely traumatic, disturbing, or stressful event due to COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nOn top of the stress from the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are sharing<\/a> that the top three reasons they\u2019re burning out and leaving their jobs are because of staffing shortages, mental health and well-being, and\/or lack of support from their employer.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe high rates of burnout are leading to more nurses leaving their jobs<\/a>, causing even more staffing shortages. The burnout cycle continues, and facilities and staff are getting stretched thinner than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nSo how do facilities attract younger nurses and keep younger staff happy to decrease turnover rates? There many aspects that the younger generations of nurses value that facilities can implement to keep their workforce strong and help lower levels of burnout:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n


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1. Easy-to-use tech<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\r\nGen Z and Millennials were surrounded by technology from a very young age, so they\u2019re used to using technology<\/a> both in their day-to-day life and their work life. Using their favorite apps like Uber and AirBnB, they get the immediate satisfaction of booking a service. With apps like DoorDash and Instacart, they are used to getting paid within a few days for tasks they can accomplish quickly. They want easy-to-use technology<\/a> that can help them quickly access jobs that work for them.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nPlus, since Gen Z and Millennials are used to doing everything on their phones, they want the opportunity to utilize the technology at their fingertips in their work lives as well as their personal lives. With Medely, they can. Gen Z and Millennial nurses and health professionals can easily find shifts that work for them, book with the click of a button, clock in and out for their shifts, and get paid directly \u2013 all from their phones. Learn more<\/a> about our network of over 300K nurses and health professionals that love using Medely.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n


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2. Flexibility\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\r\nFlexibility is extremely important to Gen Z and Millennial workers with a recent survey from Shiftboard<\/a> stating that \u201c55% of Gen Z and 51% of Millennials value having control over their work schedule.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nHaving a flexible schedule allows them to practice an excellent work-life balance, leading to better outcomes for burnout and high turnover rates. With flexibility in their work, they have the freedom to spend time with their friends and family, cultivate their personal hobbies, like cooking, meditation, exercise, or anything else they desire to pursue, and leave enough time to work on their mental health, another important element to Millennial and Gen Z workers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n


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3. Mental Health<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\r\nGen Z and Millennials are more focused than ever on protecting their mental health. In fact, \u201cnearly half of Gen Zs and four in 10 Millennials say they feel stressed all or most of the time,\u201d according to a survey from Deloitte<\/a>. One of the ways that they can lower their stress levels is by having understanding employers and a flexible work schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nBy having the flexibility to change their schedule and work when it works for them, younger nurses and health professionals are able to schedule shifts around mental health days and have the opportunity to work when they feel the best and are able to give 100% to their job. Protecting their mental health is key to avoiding burnout, which can cause more staffing shortages, leaving an already understaffed floor even shorter.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\nPlatforms like Medely help make it possible and easier for nurses and health professionals to pick up per diem shifts and assignments<\/a> so they can work on their schedule, leaving them plenty of time to take breaks so that they can be the healthiest, happiest version of themselves in the workplace, which ultimately leads to better patient care.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n



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How to effectively combat healthcare labor shortages in 2024<\/h2>\r\n

Learn how to effectively combat healthcare labor shortages with an extended workforce to maintain continuity of care and gain access to tools you can use to manage your extended workforce more effectively and efficiently. In this eBook, you\u2019ll learn:<\/p>\r\n