Survey finds most young healthcare staff plan to quit their current job by year-end

A survey reveals that a large share of younger healthcare workers in the United States are considering new jobs within the next year, despite many saying they desire long-term stability with one employer. These results suggest a retention challenge for U.S. healthcare employers, who are already anticipating a shortfall of nearly 500,000 workers by 2038. That projection stems from an aging workforce and growing demand that are straining staffing levels.

A survey by Harris Poll, commissioned by education services company Strategic Education and Workforce Edge, found that roughly 70% of Generation Z healthcare workers, typically born between 1997 and 2012, plan to consider new roles within the coming year. At the same time, 65% of those surveyed said they want to stay with one employer for five years or longer, even as nearly all stressed that job security matters a great deal to them.

Finance’s survey revealed that across every age group, 59% of healthcare workers said they plan to look for a new job within the coming year.

The Numbers Behind the Survey

An education services company named Strategic Education and Workforce Edge commissioned a survey involving 1,514 healthcare employees and 304 employers. The research took place from June 12 to July 1.

According to the survey, career advancement appears to be a significant driver of turnover among younger workers, more so than merely wanting a change of job. Almost half of the employers polled pointed to a lack of career growth or training as the leading reason workers depart, whereas only around one in four staff members said they trusted their employer to invest in their future.

Why Workers Want Stability But Look Anyway

What stands out in the survey is its own internal conflict. The young workforce is shifting into new roles even as it expresses a desire for lasting stability. Resolving those two impulses is difficult, and the tension raises a larger question about how employers approach keeping their staff.

That nearly half of employers point to a lack of career growth as the top reason workers leave backs the notion that workers want upward movement, not merely fresh posts.

What Employers Are Actually Doing

Businesses are not remaining passive in response to this issue. Instead, they are altering their approach to AI and modifying their standards for what employees must do to perform well.

Employers say that workers leave because they do not get enough career growth or training, with nearly half naming it as the top reason. Fewer than one in four employees trust their employer to put money into their future. The difference between what bosses think and what staff believe is wide, and it sits at the heart of what the survey found.

How the Shortage Adds Pressure

Staffing shortages are a growing problem for healthcare, with an aging workforce and increasing demand pushing staffing levels to their limits. The sector is expected to come up short by nearly 500,000 workers by 2038.

Survey findings compound the strain on the field. Workers are moving toward new jobs, while employers fear losing staff. These competing forces are pushing against each other, and the sector has little space to take in the conflict.

What This Means for Healthcare Employers

Several directions stand out for companies looking to hold on to their workers, according to the report.

1. Offer career growth and training programs that workers can trust.
2. Address the reasons workers leave, including a lack of career growth.
3. Build trust by investing in employees’ futures.
4. Keep an eye on AI skill requirements, which are shifting.

These are not radical changes, yet they demand purposeful action. Employers should not presume employees will remain simply because they are content today.

The Trust Gap Is the Problem

The survey reveals a significant divide over trust. Just roughly one in four workers said they trusted their employer to invest in their future, yet almost half of managers pointed to a lack of career growth or training as the main reason workers depart.

The heart of the retention problem comes down to a disconnect: employers can identify the issue and label it, yet workers do not sense the answer. Workers will keep searching, and employers will keep losing them until that distance between what employers see and what workers feel narrows.

“Only about one in four employees said they trusted their employer to invest in their future.”

A Sector Already Strained

Healthcare is already stretched thin, with an older workforce and growing demand pushing staffing to its limits. The sector is projected to come up short by nearly 500,000 workers by 2038, a gap that could make it difficult for hospitals and clinics to keep pace with patient need.

Survey findings contribute to that strain. Workers are searching for new positions, and managers are concerned about staff departures. The two tendencies are pushing in opposite directions, leaving little space for the field to handle the conflict.

The Verdict on the Survey

This survey leaves more questions open than it closes, and that is precisely what a good survey ought to do. It presents a labor force that desires stability even while it remains in motion, and it presents employers who are attempting to catch up but are failing to build trust with their workers.

The tension is the whole tale: workers wish to remain while also wanting to depart, and the industry has grown so thin that both choices feel like losses rather than victories.

The study was put together at the request of Strategic Education and Workforce Edge, so its results carry the weight of a sponsor’s interest. Still, the survey draws on answers from 1,514 healthcare workers and 304 employers, and the scale of those responses stands on its own.

Employers are scrambling to keep up as the healthcare sector changes, while workers look ahead at what comes next. The survey reveals a field in transition, with a trust gap between the two groups at its center. Closing that divide will take effort from both employers and workers alike.

AI skills · Gen Z · healthcare workers · job turnover · workforce shortage