The oldest members of Generation Z are turning 27 this year. Many have already launched their careers, while others are gearing up for major life transitions. In these pivotal years, as a new generation enters the workforce, are we doing everything we can to welcome Gen Z into the long-term care industry with wide open arms?

Gen Z has already proven to be extraordinarily resilient. I’ve had a front-row seat to this while supporting my daughter, who finished high school during the height of COVID-19 and had her and her friends’ early college years shaped by the pandemic. It wasn’t always easy. They had to be adaptable, let go of what they couldn’t control and create new experiences and traditions.

Through it all, I’ve learned this generation has unique talents and skills that will position them to be exceptional leaders in long-term care. It’s not a question of if Gen Z will lead our industry into the future, it’s a matter of how we will support them as they do it.

In these formative years of their careers, it’s up to us to listen to their ideas, help pull out their strengths and be responsive to their leadership perspective. The alternative is stunting growth and innovation and an industry-wide leadership crisis that will have long-term implications.

At the Good Samaritan Society, we relaunched our Administrator-in-Training (AIT) program earlier this year. While we’ve always had a robust AIT program, we recognized a need to tailor our training in a different way to meet the evolving needs of new leaders.

Our first cohort of 10 AITs is currently training with their preceptor and getting hands-on experience. Most of them are Gen Z, and while they’re the ones in training, we’re already learning so much from them about how to best support young leaders. We’re also really excited about the perspective they’re bringing to our locations.

As an example, one of our AITs in Iowa played a lead role in preparing his location for the updated facility assessment guidelines. He not only created a plan but also sought feedback, made adjustments and shared the feedback with a neighboring location for their facility assessment.

One of our administrators in Kansas, who is serving as a preceptor, said of his AIT, “She is asking many thoughtful questions to better understand every situation. She’s been provided with a lot of autonomy in her learning and setting up her own rotations, and she’s welcomed the freedom to do that. I see in her a desire to learn as much as she can – she’s looking into getting her CNA license.” 

We’re seeing firsthand as these young, motivated leaders take the role into their own hands and make meaningful contributions to our profession.

At the Good Samaritan Society, we’re evolving how we support all our leaders so we create a better experience for Gen Zs coming our way. We’re focused on empowering them to make decisions, encouraging work-life effectiveness and hardwiring support networks so leaders know they always have a colleague in their corner. We’re lifting up their voices through administrator and director of nursing councils, and are helping leaders find their own voices on Capitol Hill and during building tours with elected officials.

Long-term care leaders have always needed this support, flexibility and empowerment, but Gen Z is demanding it. According to a recent Deloitte survey of Gen Zs in the workplace, six in 10 Gen Zs (61%) believe they have the power to drive change within their organizations, and roughly nine in 10 (86%) say having a sense of purpose in their work is very or somewhat important to their overall job satisfaction and well-being. 

When we give young leaders a safe and supportive environment to make mistakes and find their way, we see them gain confidence faster and have a greater sense of pride and ownership in their operations and care delivery. 

For example, Madison, one of our Gen Z administrators in Nebraska, is passionate about exposing high school and college students to the diverse career opportunities available in long-term care. She regularly welcomes students into her building to shadow her for a day and keeps them updated on job openings they might be interested in. This type of proactive outreach has helped Madison build trust and relationships, not to mention it’s helping to build the pipeline.

We have everything to gain and nothing to lose by embracing Gen Zs while they are on the doorstep of the professional workforce. These leaders are talented, creative and motivated to do good. Let’s do everything we can to help them find fulfilling careers in long-term care and then support the heck out of them while they grow!

Aimee Middleton is the Chief Operating Officer of the Good Samaritan Society, the nation’s largest non-profit provider of skilled nursing services.

The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.

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