Seven in 10 Gen Z health care workers are looking for a new job as many question whether their employers will support their long-term careers, according to a new national survey.
The 2026 Healthcare Workforce Barometer found that more than half of all health care workers surveyed were considering leaving their current jobs. Researchers said younger employees were especially focused on advancement, education and a clearer path to stable careers.
The Harris Poll conducted the study for Strategic Education Inc. and Workforce Edge. It surveyed 1,514 full-time health care employees who provide direct patient care and 304 director-level or higher health care employers from June 12 through July 1.
The findings come as federal projections point to a shortage of nearly 500,000 critical health care workers by 2038. The report also noted that one-third of nurses are older than 50, increasing pressure on employers to retain younger workers.
Advancement expectations outpace trust
Among Gen Z health care workers, 95% said long-term job security is important, suggesting that many are not trying to leave the field itself. Instead, the report found a gap between their career expectations and the support they believe employers will provide.
Eighty-nine percent of Gen Z respondents said clear opportunities for advancement matter, compared with 80% of the overall health care workforce. Eighty-six percent of younger workers said education or new skills would help them advance.
Across all age groups, 80% of workers said advancement opportunities are important, but only 26% trusted their employer to support their long-term career growth. That 54-point difference was one of the report's central findings.
Employers recognized a similar problem. Forty-seven percent identified limited advancement, professional development or education as the main reason employees leave.
Workers want education benefits
Three-quarters of health care workers said they were interested in continuing their education through degree programs, professional certifications or other skills-based learning. Eighty-one percent said they would welcome an employer-sponsored education benefit.
Employers that already offer such programs reported positive results. Eighty-nine percent said education benefits improved retention and career mobility for participating employees, yet only 48% of employers surveyed had a comprehensive program in place.
Jen Musil, president of research at The Harris Poll, said the findings point to an opportunity for employers to improve retention by offering more substantial professional-development programs.
Workers remain cautious about AI
The survey also found mixed views of artificial intelligence in health care. Forty-eight percent of workers said they were comfortable using AI-based tools in their current role, while 39% said the technology had not yet had a noticeable effect on their work.
Two-thirds said health care workers face less risk of being replaced by AI than employees in other industries. At the same time, only 45% trusted AI to provide meaningful benefits to patients.
Employers also appeared less urgent about AI training than they did a year ago. Seventy-nine percent said workers need AI skills to remain competitive, down from 89% in the 2025 survey.
Employee responses were weighted to reflect demographic and occupational characteristics of the U.S. health care workforce, while employer responses were weighted by organization size. The reported credible intervals were plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for workers and 6.7 points for employers, with wider margins for subgroups such as Gen Z.
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