Retaining Generation Y Nurses: Preferred Characteristics of Their Nurse Managers.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Leadership
• Organizational Behavior
• Human Resources in Healthcare

Background:

• Attracting and retaining Generation Y nurses requires understanding their views on workplace loyalty.
• Organizational leaders must adapt to the expectations of the emerging Generation Y nursing workforce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Generation Y nurses' perceptions of their nurse managers' servant leadership qualities.
• To examine the correlation between servant leadership characteristics and Generation Y nurses' intent to remain employed.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative correlational research design.
• The Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) assessed 116 Generation Y nurses' perceptions of their managers' servant leadership.
• Data analysis focused on the relationship between servant leadership scores and intent to stay.

Main Results:

• Accountability was the most positively perceived servant leadership characteristic among managers.
• Forgiveness was the least positively rated servant leadership characteristic.
• Significant positive correlations were found between overall Servant Leadership Survey scores and intent to stay.
• Specific servant leadership dimensions (standing back, empowerment, authenticity, humility, stewardship) positively correlated with intent to stay.

Conclusions:

• Generation Y nurses are drawn to specific servant leadership traits in nurse managers.
• The presence of these desired characteristics can enhance retention of Generation Y nurses.
• A lack of these qualities may contribute to higher turnover rates among Generation Y nurses.