The NHS in England is facing a “ticking timebomb” when it comes to retaining young staff, nursing leaders have warned, after new analysis showed its generation Z workers are becoming more stressed and unhappy over time.
A new report by the Nuffield Trust shows soaring dissatisfaction rates among staff in the health service’s youngest cohort, aged 21 to 30 – based on analysis of NHS surveys.
Researchers found that, between 2013 and 2023, stress levels in clinical staff aged 21 to 30 rose by 14 percentage points. In 2023, more than half (52%) said they had been made unwell through work-related stress in the previous year, compared with 38% in 2013.
But the proportion of older NHS workers – aged between 51 and 65 – who had become ill for the same reason decreased across the same period, dropping from 43% to 40%.
The report also found that the proportion of young NHS staff unhappy with their salary has doubled, from 10% in 2013 to 22% in 2023. But in older staff, there has been a much smaller increase, from 11% in 2013 to 12% in 2023.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said that the findings were a “ticking timebomb” for the NHS.
She added: “Young nursing staff are the future of the workforce, but those at the start of their careers are the most unhappy.
“A new nurse today is likely to face extreme pressure in severely understaffed services, with stagnant pay and little prospect of progression. In these conditions, it is little wonder so many feel undervalued and overworked.
“The number of people leaving within the first years of their career has skyrocketed, while applications to study nursing are in collapse. Ministers need to realise you cannot fix a broken NHS without making nursing a more attractive career, starting with a proper pay rise and new investment to grow the workforce.
“That’s how you support staff to deliver care the way they want to, and improve job satisfaction.”
Thea Stein, the chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, said the findings showed that the “traditionally tough start faced by the youngest staff has got even tougher over the past decade”.
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She added: “Gen Z NHS workers are now having to manage exams, early career demands and learning the job in potentially overstretched services alongside escalating cost of living pressures. Our findings raise real concerns around the NHS’s ability to retain its youngest workers, who are just at the start of their careers but are increasingly unhappy.
“The future of the health service depends on these workers. It is vital policymakers and employers now act on what the NHS’s own staff poll shows us about what the next generation of clinicians need to stay and thrive in the NHS.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS organisations have done a huge amount to improve the working environment for staff over the past couple of years and our staff retention levels are among the highest in over a decade – with a reduction in sickness and absence rates and an improvement in productivity.
“The NHS is fully committed to ensuring staff get the support they need, and the health service is now offering more flexible working options than ever before, as well as a range of mental health support available for staff, including access to coaching and wellbeing resources.”
Source: www.theguardian.com