Dive Brief:
- Nearly three-quarters of Gen Z healthcare workers intend to find a new role in the next year, according to a new poll of more than 1,500 U.S. healthcare employees.
- The survey, commissioned by the Harris Poll found that less than half of Gen Z healthcare workers feel very loyal to their current employer, in part because professional development and career advancement feel out of reach.
- At the same time, three-quarters of employers said retaining and recruiting this age group is important as they anticipate older healthcare workers entering retirement soon.
Dive Insight:
The poll comes as the healthcare industry is facing workforce shortages, with a projected scarcity of around 500,000 healthcare workers predicted by 2038. Currently, healthcare professionals, especially physicians and nurses, are mostly over the age of 50, opening the door for younger workers to fill the gap.
But Gen Z healthcare workers are increasingly looking to jump ship: While 59% of all healthcare workers are likely to look for a new role within the next year, 70% of those looking for a new gig are Gen Z.
Only about a quarter of Gen Z trust that their employer has their long-term career growth in mind, a priority for the demographic, according to the report. Nearly every healthcare worker wants opportunities for career advancement, according to the poll, and 86% of Gen Z said education or training opportunities will help them advance in their careers.
But employers aren’t meeting those needs. While 47% of employers know poor career training and education are key reasons why employees leave a company, only 48% have a formalized workforce education strategy.
Making these adjustments could be table stakes for healthcare employers, not just because they need to backfill an older workforce poised to retire soon. These figures could also be indicative of a recruitment paradigm shift, according to Rebecca Purser, a research director at The Harris Poll who worked on the survey.
“A lot of young people now can't do the traditional paying for college on their own route,” Purser said. “They're able to get into the workforce and then hope to get some support from employers, as well, to perhaps further education or continuing their learning.”
Employers focused on recruiting and retaining Gen Z workers need to assure prospective employees that they’re invested in their long-term career development.
Purser said younger workers want a clear-cut pathway toward career growth, in addition to some education benefits like tuition assistance or reimbursement. Outlining what workers will get out of certification processes, plus the time and financial commitments to pursuing new credentials, will also be essential.
“A lot of organizations really rely on benefits portals and emails, brochures, that kind of thing to lay out benefits,” Pursue explained. “But that was definitely pretty secondary in terms of what folks really trust.”
Instead, workers want to hear from their managers and peers about their benefits, particularly those surrounding career development pathways, the survey showed.
