Generational Differences in Nurses’ Intention to Leave

Abstract

There are many studies about nurses’ intention to leave their jobs and contributing factors. However, there is a lack of research about generational differences in nurses’ intention to leave. This evidence may help with workforce planning and targeting specific generations of nurses with retention interventions. Using the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators 2018 Annual Registered Nurse Survey, we used descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression to examine the prevalence of and reasons for nurses’ intention to leave in the next year by generational age group. Our sample included 207,636 hospital nurses from across the United States. We found that 21% of nurses (n = 44,082) reported intention to leave. When comparing generations, there were differences in intention to leave, as well as differences in potentially preventable, career advancement, and personal intention to leave reasons. Workload/staffing was a common reason across generations, indicating that certain interventions may be applicable regardless of generation.