How Health Systems Can Retain Gen Z Workers

Gen Z is fast becoming a force in the healthcare workforce — and a retention risk. Defined by Merriam-Webster as people born in the last 1990s and early 2000s, this generation has grown up in an internet-connected world and is the second youngest cohort, senior only to Gen Alpha.

Several reports have put numbers to that risk. The 2026 Healthcare Workforce Barometer by Workforce Edge warns 70% of Gen Z healthcare workers plan to find a new role in the next year, while the AONL and Laudio Insights report “Engaging and Retaining Gen Z Nurses: Trends and Strategies” notes high turnover rates for younger workers after the 30-month mark.

Recruiting and retaining Gen Z workers is a high/medium organizational priority for approximately three in four employers, according to the Healthcare Workforce Barometer. This makes sense as Gen Z is rapidly gaining prominence in the workplace: They are currently the fastest-growing segment of the nursing workforce and the sole generation gaining ground in this respect, according to the AONL-Laudio report. In addition, these younger nurses are approaching the 30% tipping point at which they’re expected to begin defining workplace culture. Keeping them is vital to support health system growth and high-quality care delivery going forward.

While the Barometer notes that 70% of Gen Z healthcare workers say they’re likely to search for a new role in the next year (the highest share of all generations), young workers are still interested in establishing long-term careers, with 65% indicating they anticipate staying with one employer for five years or longer. That suggests hospitals and health systems can earn younger workers’ long-term loyalty — if they account for priorities that differ markedly from those of older generations.

What Gen Z Wants: Shifting Priorities Across Generations

Gen Z employees aren’t simply younger versions of Millennials, Gen X or Baby Boomers. They have distinct work-related priorities and behaviors, according to the Barometer and the AONL-Laudio report. Here’s how they differ:

• They are motivated by opportunities for advancement. Eighty-nine percent indicate that clear opportunities for advancement are important, compared with 84% of Millennials, 72% of Gen Xers and 56% of Boomers. In addition, 86% of Gen Z workers believe education and/or learning new skills will further their careers.
• They need more meaningful interactions with managers. For Gen Z RNs, about five meaningful check-ins with a manager every three months produce a roughly five-point bump in retention. Millennial nurses get the same boost from two.
• They value work-life balance and flexibility. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z workers say they prioritize practical benefits (e.g., flexibility, stability and compensation). They’re also more likely to take breaks and group their shifts to maximize time off.
• They stay longer early on — then hit a retention cliff at 30 months. At 24 months, 68% of Gen Z RNs are still in their role, compared with approximately 61% of Millennials, 56% of Gen X RNs and 41% of Baby Boomers. However, their turnover rate climbs above that of Millennials and Gen X after the 30-month mark, when structured residency programs, mentorship, formal onboarding, frequent check-ins and clearly defined expectations tend to fall away. That suggests keeping these nurses depends on continuing frequent feedback, recognition, coaching and relational connection beyond residency.

How to Retain Gen Z Workers: Insights from Leading Health Systems

Based on interviews with nurse executives and managers at health systems that have retained large numbers of Gen Z RNs, the AONL-Laudio Insights report identifies the following priorities:

• Personalizing professional development through skills-based and purpose-driven career pathways.
• Adapting organizational structures and systems to align with younger workers’ expectations (e.g., professional growth, meaningful work and personal well-being). This could involve clarifying roles, implementing new technologies and revamping staffing models.
• Modernizing communication by adding channels such as texting and secure messaging while still accommodating Gen Z teammates’ desire for face-to-face interactions with managers.
• Focusing on wellness and flexibility. Gen Z workers typically value boundaries between work and personal life and having control over their schedules.
• Advocating for mental health by providing support and resources and integrating wellness into workforce strategy, operational decisions and leadership expectations.

These real-life examples from Becker’s Hospital Review illustrate how health systems nationwide are adjusting their workforce strategies to retain younger team members and support their careers.

• Renton, Washington-based Providence has implemented a Universal Skills program featuring social learning communities, accessible learning experiences and instructor-led foundational skill development.
• Houston Methodist has defined career expectations using a Leadership Behaviors model.
• Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, gets new team members up to speed on organizational values, culture and communication and collaboration strategies through its Beginnings orientation program.
• Evanston, Illinois-based Endeavor Health has launched a Collaborating Across Generations training to help team members look beyond generational labels and understand the perspectives and experiences that influence workplace behavior.
• HonorHealth in Scottsdale, Arizona, is investing in career ladders and workforce development.

The Bottom Line for Hospitals and Health Systems

Gen Z retention holds up while new nurses have structure — residency, mentors, frequent check-ins. The risk comes when that support ends. Extending it past the two-year mark is one of the clearest levers health systems have.