The Majority of Nurses Report Feel Emotionally Exhausted at Work. Here’s What CNOs Can Do.

Workforce remedies

In addition to Gen Z nurses feeling burnt out, the study also reported that one in four said they chose not to use the mental health resources available to them because they were concerned about confidentiality or impact on their careers, Cooper explained. More than half of nurses overall also reported seriously considering leaving the nursing profession on a regular basis.

“Our findings suggest that for Gen Z nurses, burnout is not only about workload; it is also closely tied to psychological safety and trust in the workplace,” Cooper said.

Cooper emphasized that reducing first-year turnover begins before exit interviews.

“Structured mentorship, transparent communication, manageable early-career workloads, and environments where new nurses feel safe asking questions or voicing concerns can significantly influence retention,” Cooper said.

CNOs are also responsible for setting the cultural tone in their organizations.

“When they openly acknowledge stress, encourage use of support resources, and model healthy boundaries themselves, it gives early-career nurses permission to do the same,” Cooper said.

CNOs also must lead by example and empower nurses to take breaks and use mental health resources. In the survey, 55% of nurses reported regularly skipping meals or breaks, which according to Cooper, suggests that the barrier is often not availability, but normalization and visibility.

“CNOs can empower nurse managers and charge nurses to actively protect break time, build coverage into scheduling, and consistently reference mental-health resources as a standard part of team communication,” Cooper said. “When CNOs themselves speak openly about well-being, take time off, and reinforce the legitimacy of stepping away to reset, it reduces stigma and increases the likelihood that nurses will use the support systems already in place.”

Time and safety

Another major issue that CNOs must balance is mandatory overtime. According to the survey, 74% of nurses reported working mandatory overtime multiple times a month, and 49% reported worrying weekly that fatigue could lead to an error in patient care.

“Fatigue has a direct relationship with both burnout and patient-safety concerns, which makes retention and staffing inseparable issues,” Cooper said.

For CNOs, Cooper explained that effective strategies can include predictive workforce planning that accounts for patient acuity, census, flexible scheduling models, investment in float or cross-trained nurses, and long-term attention to recruitment, retention, and education pipelines.

“Supporting experienced nurses so they remain in the workforce is often more stabilizing and cost-effective than repeatedly replacing them,” Cooper said.

Cooper also emphasized that leadership modeling plays a role.

“When executive nursing leaders reinforce sustainable scheduling expectations and resist normalizing excessive overtime, it helps shift the organization from reactive coverage to proactive workforce planning,” Cooper said. “Long-term collaboration with academic institutions to expand educational capacity and strengthen clinical partnerships is also a critical component of maintaining a stable pipeline of well-prepared nurses entering the field.”

Lastly, workplace violence creates a major safety issue for CNOs. The survey reports nearly half of nurses feeling unsafe in the past year because of verbal or physical aggression from patients or their families, Cooper explained.

According to Cooper, CNOs should collaborate with CEOs, COOs, HR leaders, and security teams to install explicit zero-tolerance policies and invest in deescalation training. CNOs should also strengthen reporting pathways and make sure that enforcement efforts are consistent and transparent.

“When executive nursing leaders consistently speak about safety, reinforce reporting without retaliation, and visibly support affected staff,” Cooper said, “it sends a powerful message that protection of caregivers is foundational to workforce stability and quality care.”