Adapting Retention Strategies for the Modern Healthcare Workforce

By CPT Amelia M. Weaver, CPT Courtney A. Moore, CPT Jeffrey C. Maurer, CPT Michael T. Everett, ENS Laquesha T. Jackson, and MAJ Zachary K. Mabry

Article published on: April 1, 2026 in the Pulse of Army Medicine 2026 E-Edition

Read Time: < 7 mins

The inadequate supply of healthcare workers in the United States (U.S.) and the projected increase in demand for healthcare services are key issues and challenges facing the nation (CDC, 2024; DHHS, 2024). Leaders across all branches of industry recognize the aphorism that people are our most important asset. This proverb holds particularly true in both military and healthcare professions. The modern workforce is comprised of five generations working together ranging from “Veterans” to “Gen Z”. This diversity can produce challenges in the workplace because these generations differ in deeply rooted beliefs, expectations, and perspectives about what constitutes an optimal work environment. Unmet expectations may contribute to subpar recruitment, a disconnected workplace culture, and increased turnover in these organizations.

Leaders in military medicine must operationalize strategic human resources (HR) management best practices in order to attract, develop, and retain the best talent across generations. This requires that leaders understand different generational priorities, develop targeted efforts to align organizational policies with generational cultures, and consequently foster a positive relationship between and among supervisors and employees.

The Aging and Multigenerational Healthcare Workforce

As life expectancy in the U.S. increases and inflation rises year upon year, both the range of ages in the workforce and the average age of workers increase. As the population ages, the demand for health services increases, straining an already inadequately staffed healthcare system. Healthcare organizations are uniquely challenged to supply the demand of this aging population while also managing a multigenerational workforce. The present-day workforce consists of individuals from five distinct generations, each of which is characterized by unique attitudes, behaviors, expectations, values, and communication styles. Millennials (39.4 %), Generation X (35.5%), Baby Boomers (19%), Generation Z (6.1%) and Veterans (2%) all coexist in today’s working population (Donelan, 2024). The near future will see the population of Veterans and Baby Boomers continue to decline as they transition to retirement. Generation X and Millennials will transition to fulfill vacancies in leadership positions, and there will be increases in the population of Generation Z as they continue to enter the workforce.

Veterans, those born between 1929 and 1945, are recognized by their perseverance, fiscal conservativeness, need for respect, dedication, and loyalty. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are famously known for their tireless work ethic, ambitiousness, optimism, sense of entitlement, and strong multitasking abilities. Generation X (Gen X), those born between 1965 and 1981, is the first generation born in the digital age, which led to a strong sense of individualism, questioning authority, valuing continuous learning, desiring work/life balance, and using creativity to solve problems. Millennials (Generation Y) born between 1982 and 1999, value honest communication, collaboration, purposeful work, career progression and technical skill opportunities. Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 2000 and 2010, is characterized by a dedication to workplace diversity and inclusion, seeking career advancement and job opportunities, wanting frequent face to face electronic communication, and a desire to have a social impact aligned with their beliefs. Mastering how to attract, communicate with, engage, motivate, and train employees across these generations is crucial to maintaining a healthy workforce in any organization. The healthcare field must not only accept but champion a diverse workforce as the population of patients it serves is equally diverse.

Retention Challenges in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is facing continued retention challenges that are progressing to crisis levels in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2023 systematic review found the healthcare industry is short 4.3 million doctors and 5.9 million nurses globally (De Vries et al., 2023). Furthermore, the American Hospital Association (n.d.) estimates that by 2028, the U.S. healthcare system alone will experience a shortage of approximately 100,000 critical health workers. Decreases in the workforce directly result in increased workload that must be redistributed to those individuals who remain in the workforce. Because workload is often cited as the primary contributor to burnout, employees exiting the workforce perpetuates the cycle of staffing shortages. Targeted efforts must be directed at decreasing turnover in the workplace. Low job satisfaction, poor compensation, limited opportunities for pay increases, lack of recognition of contributions, and poor working conditions are also associated with poor retention across all generations. An aggregation of these factors has caused many healthcare workers to leave the profession altogether in recent years. Interestingly, lack of continuing professional development is associated with workforce attrition, but only in younger age groups, highlighting an important generational difference with respect to retention.

Human Resources Management Involvement in the Healthcare Workforce Crisis

Because health care services must be produced at the point of consumption, the healthcare industry is acutely dependent on the available workforce. This makes the function of strategic HR management indispensable within the healthcare industry. Expert HR management is required to provide adequate staffing, to cultivate competent professionals, and to foster a positive working environment in which employees are not only satisfied but engaged and committed to the organization. With growing generational diversity in the healthcare workplace, healthcare administrators and HR professionals must tailor retention investment strategies to meet distinct motivational profiles across these generational cohorts.

The first step in addressing a problem is developing an understanding of the problem. When considering how to synchronize a multigenerational workforce and to incentivize retention in a workforce plagued with burnout, HR professionals must familiarize themselves with the background and the factors that have led to the current retention crisis. With this foundational understanding, organizations should then strive to understand the unique dynamics of their specific organization and market. This can be done through analyzing regional market data and seeking employee feedback through surveys and comment boxes. Acknowledging employee feedback and including staff in the planning process of any future changes implemented in response to feedback is a crucial step in developing trust and confidence between leadership and staff. Human resource professionals should also establish processes to stay informed of generational perceptions and expectations. These perceptions and expectations should be incorporated into retention strategies with particular attention to ensure individual generations do not feel ostracized or devalued.

Bridging the Generational Divide

The modern workforce – characterized by significant staffing shortages and multigenerational teams – requires a modern solution to employee retention. For the first time in history, five different generations spanning 65 years are working together in a common workplace. Accounting for generational differences within the workforce is crucial to maintaining a competitive status in the face of human capital challenges. Management that uses a “one-size-fits-all” approach to addressing the needs, expectations, and values of staff will not achieve sufficient retention to remain solvent. Talent acquisition, development, and retention processes and policies must be tailored in consideration of the priorities of all age groups in the workplace. These changes will require front-end investment of both time and effort from organizational leadership; however, they will pay dividends in terms of employee buy-in and engagement. They will also facilitate development of cohesive teams which will contribute to efficiency and productivity in the workplace, all of which are necessary to combat the burnout crisis in the modern healthcare environment.

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