More than 40 percent of young New Zealand nurses are struggling with the emotional challenges of their job, according to an online survey.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation survey found many young nurses believe their education has not prepared them for the workplace challenges of conflict resolution, managing challenging behaviour and managing their own stress and emotions.

Nurses also stated the reality of the job differed from expectations, with more than 50 percent rating their pay as not appropriate for their roles and responsibilities.

The NZNO’s Dr Jill Clendon and Dr Leonie Walker conducted the research of nurses aged under 30 late last year.

They found bullying is rife, featuring in 38.2 percent of workplaces, while 46 percent of respondents believe there are not enough nurses to provide safe care.

Dr Clendon said 10 percent of young nurses are considering opting out of the profession in the next 12 months, blaming a poor working environment including low pay, inadequate staffing and compromised patient safety along with a lack of family-orientated workplace flexibility.

"Developing family-friendly workplace policies, including job share opportunities and more accessible and affordable childcare, will assist younger nurses to remain in the workplace," she said.

Nurses would consider remaining in the sector if they had a pay increase and more recognition from their manager of their skills, Dr Clendon said.

More than a third of those surveyed said they had changed jobs in the past year to gain different skills but an alarming 16 percent of those nurses stated bullying was a problem in their workplace - with half confirming they were looking for a new job.

Dr Clendon said a range of recommendations had been made as a result of the survey findings, including developing and implementing activities to address bullying in the workplace, improving the content of the undergraduate curriculum on managing the emotional challenges of nursing, and improving pay progression in employment agreements.

Further research is required to explore a number of the findings, including finding out what emotional stress younger nurses found the most challenging, she said.