Autonomy is key to staff satisfaction

The Nuffield Trust reports that there has been a dramatic fall in nursing graduates joining the NHS after training, with 6325 fewer new nurses with a UK nationality joining its hospital and community services in the year to March 2022 compared with the same period 2 years before (a fall of 32%) (Taylor et al, 2025).

NHS workforce challenges and strategies to improve retention and sustain a pipeline have been hot topics for some time. There is significant work in progress to understand opportunities to deliver improvements. The Nuffield Trust explored the relationship between age, staff experience and what it means for workforce retention and policy (Taylor et al, 2025).

Also of interest is the work of the Scottish Ministerial Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce, whose recent publication (2025) offers some timely and valuable recommendations for consideration.

The Nuffield Trust (Taylor et al, 2025) reviewed NHS staff survey data (NHS England, 2025) over the past 20 years from England, exploring the generational differences between NHS staff. The data showed that age and generational factors influence the experiences and motivations of staff. Although the popular narrative suggests that younger workers have radically different attitudes to older workers, the survey identified only two instances where there was a large difference between the experiences of younger staff and other age groups. Older staff are increasingly distinct in their responses compared to other age groups. However, achieving work-life balance is a crucial concern for all. Stress levels are high across all age groups, with a notable increase among the youngest NHS staff (21 to 30-year-olds). There appear to be financial pressures on younger staff, with the survey identifying an increase in the proportion of younger workers taking on more paid overtime: