Hope as a Catalyst: Understanding Generation Z in Hospital Workplaces

By: Tofan Arville Yunardo Sosakokone
Master of Psychology Student, Soegijapranata Catholic University
Student ID: 25E020039

JurnalPost.com - Amidst the rapidly changing landscape of the modern workplace, a critical question arises: what keeps someone going when their job does not always go as expected?

This question is increasingly relevant for Generation Z, a cohort now entering various professional fields. For them, work is not just about income, but also about personal development and the search for meaning.

In a hospital environment, work transcends daily routines. It encompasses elements of dedication, responsibility, and service to others.

So, what enables young people to maintain hope amidst the various challenges of their work, particularly at Imanuel Hospital Way Halim, Bandar Lampung?

One answer can be found in a simple yet powerful concept: hope or expectation.

Hope Is More Than Just “Wishing”

In daily life, we often use the word hope in a simple sense, for example, “I hope my career goes well.”

However, psychologist Charles R. Snyder views hope more profoundly.

In Hope Theory, Snyder explains that hope is not merely a desire for something good to happen. Hope relates to an individual's ability to set goals, find various pathways to achieve those goals, and maintain the drive to keep moving toward them.

People who possess hope do not necessarily avoid problems.

Someone might be struggling with their job, failing to get a promotion, facing a heavy workload, or feeling burned out. Yet, they are still able to tell themselves, “I may not know how yet, but I can still find a way.”

They might fail to get a desired opportunity but continue to learn. They might feel tired but still have a reason to carry on.

Thus, hope does not mean living without difficulties. Hope is the ability to see that difficulties are not the end of the journey.

Generation Z and the Search for Meaning

Generation Z enters the workforce at a time when technology is evolving rapidly, competency demands are rising, and the boundaries between personal life and work are becoming increasingly blurred.

In a hospital environment, the challenges are even more complex. There are demands to deal with patients and their families, emergency situations, administrative tasks, quality standard achievements, and organizational dynamics.

In such situations, young workers need more than just instructions on what to do.

They also need answers to the question: “Why am I doing this work?”

When a job has meaning, it is no longer viewed merely as an obligation. Work can become part of a process where one builds an identity, develops skills, and provides benefits to others.

When Work Becomes Service

Imanuel Hospital Way Halim identifies as a hospital with a Christian mission, carrying the motto “Loving and Serving.”

From this perspective, patients are not just seen as “cases” or “medical record numbers.” Patients are human beings who have families, fears, hopes, and the right to be treated with dignity.

However, organizational values do not automatically become the personal values of all employees.

For some, working in a hospital can be interpreted as an opportunity to serve. For others, the job is a chance to help patients. There are also those who view the hospital as a place to grow, develop competencies, build a career, and provide benefits to others.

Therefore, the question that needs to be asked is not just, “What values does the hospital have?”

An equally important question is, “How are those values experienced and interpreted by the people who work within it?”

When Hope Meets Organizational Culture

Imagine a young employee who aspires to be a competent professional.

This aspiration is a goal or objective.

Along the way, they may face various obstacles, such as limited learning opportunities, increased workloads, or career development paths that are not yet fully clear.

They then begin to ask, “What other paths can I take?”

They seek mentors, attend training, discuss with superiors, or learn from more experienced colleagues. In Snyder’s Hope Theory, the ability to find various ways to achieve goals is called pathways.

After that, the next question arises: “Am I still willing to strive to achieve it?”

When someone still has the energy, motivation, and belief to continue their efforts, this is called agency.

Goals, the ability to find pathways, and the drive to keep moving are the core of Hope Theory.

At that point, hope becomes something real in work life.

More Than Just Retaining Employees

Hospitals often discuss various strategies to retain staff, increase job satisfaction, and reduce turnover.

All of these are important.

However, there is a potentially more fundamental question:

Can employees still see their future within this organization?

Employees who can see a future will more easily invest their time, energy, and skills into the work they are currently doing.

Building hope does not mean promising that all problems will disappear. Organizations also cannot guarantee that every employee's expectation will always be met.

Building hope means helping someone see a goal, find possible paths to take, and have a reason to keep moving.

In this process, the role of leaders, mentors, and colleagues becomes crucial.

Generation Z Does Not Always Need Instant Answers

The younger generation is often considered a generation that wants everything quickly.

In reality, what they need is not always an instant answer.

Sometimes they just need someone willing to listen, space to experiment, opportunities to learn from mistakes, and the belief that when one path is closed, there are still other possibilities to explore.

In Snyder’s terms, the ability to see alternative paths is part of pathways thinking.

A work environment that gives young workers the opportunity to explore various possibilities can help them maintain hope for the future.

Maintaining Generation Z's Hope

Building hope does not mean creating a work environment without problems.

On the contrary, hope grows in an environment that allows someone to face problems without losing sight of their future.

There are several things that organizations can focus on.

First, provide clear direction so that employees understand how their work contributes to the organization's goals and patient care.

Second, open learning opportunities through training, mentoring, competency development, and career development paths.

Third, build humane working relationships. An environment that allows someone to be heard, valued, and given space to grow can be an important foundation for the emergence of hope.

Fourth, ensure that the meaning of service is present in daily behavior, not just written in organizational documents or used as a slogan.

Fifth, listen to the voices of the younger generation. Their future within the organization is difficult to build without understanding how they view work, career development, and the life they want to lead.

Ultimately, Hope Is About the Future

Generation Z is not just looking for a job. They are also looking for a place to build a future.

That future requires more than just competence. They need goals, paths to achieve those goals, and reasons to keep moving forward.

For Imanuel Hospital Way Halim, hope can be a meeting point between professionalism and service, between career and calling, and between individual interests and organizational goals.

Perhaps the biggest question for an organization is not, “How do we make employees stay?”

The more profound question is, “What makes them still want to walk with us toward the future?”

Because when someone is still able to see the future and find a way to achieve it, that is where hope lives.

And perhaps, a hospital is not just a place to care for life, but also a place where human hope—both for patients and those who work within it—can be continuously nurtured.

References

Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigmon, S. T., Yoshinobu, L., Gibb, J., Langelle, C., & Harney, P. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual-differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585.

Snyder, C. R. (1995). Conceptualizing, measuring, and nurturing hope. Journal of Counseling & Development, 73(3), 355–360.

Hampton, D. C., & Welsh, D. (2019). Work values of Generation Z nurses. Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(10), 480–486.

Kanste, O., Ylisirniö, M., Hammarén, M., & Kuha, S. (2025). The perceptions of Generation Z professionals and students concerning health-care work: A scoping review. Nurse Education Today, 150, 106678.