IT'S NOT THE GREAT RESIGNATION; IT'S THE GREAT REALIGNMENT
"The Great Resignation is really a Great Re-Evaluation. What people are resigning from is a culture of burnout and a broken definition of success. In quitting their jobs, people are affirming their longing for a different way of working and living." - Arianna Huffington
"The Great Resignation" was a term coined in 2021 to describe the record-high number of U.S. workers who resigned since 2020.
While the statistics supports this claim, my take on it is different.
I prefer to call it "The Great Realignment".
I believe what actually happened was an opportunity for both employers and employees to realign - to really take a hard at their values, what they were always dissatisfied with about their jobs, and find an employment situation that works best for them.
The job satisfaction issues were always there, long before the pandemic. But the pandemic gave them the opportunity and the motivation to make a change.
RESIGNATION STATISTICS
It's true there were massive resignations in 2020 and 2021 for a myriad of reasons; taking sabbaticals, early retirement, or leaving the workplace to care for children and family members. Since April of 2021, nearly 33 million people have left their positions: that's over a fifth of the total U.S. workforce.
But droves of workers around the globe weren't necessarily leaving the workforce and staying home. They were shifting their focus into a job that better suits their lifestyle.
Here are a few findings from Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, who was the one who coined the term 'Great Resignation':
- People are finding jobs that give them the right pay, benefits, and work arrangements in the longer term
- Rather than leave the workforce altogether, workers are moving around the job market
- For possible the first time in history, works have agency: they are making deliberate choices as to where their careers are going
- These are "pandemic epiphanies" - the ability for workers to fit their jobs into their lives, rather than having lives that squeeze into their jobs
THE IMPACT OF STRESS
According to Liz Fosslien, an expert on emotions at work and head of content at Humu, stress and burnout are the main reasons why people leave their jobs.
In a 2020 survey:
- 71% of employees experienced burnout at least once
- 62% admit to feeling overwhelmed by work responsibilities
- 32% say they are emotionally drained
INDUSTRIES MOST AFFECTED
While workers are shifting across the board, certain fields seem to be affected more than others.
- HEALTHCARE -From March of 2020 until November of 2021, 1 in 5 U.S. healthcare workers quit their jobs. Many say they felt burned out during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some even say they were traumatized by what they witnessed in hospitals
- FOOD SERVICE -Foodservice workers have the highest resignation rates. This started when many restaurants closed in the early days of the pandemic and continued as customers were hesitant to dine in once they reopened
- RETAIL - The retail industry is also strained, with the second highest quit rates after the foodservice industry. Many restaurants and retail workers say they grew weary of the low pay and health risks associated with their jobs
EMPLOYEES WANT FLEXIBILITY
When many employees were sent to work from home in March of 2020, they realized it was a lifestyle switch they preferred. 20% of workers say the pandemic caused them to change the kind of role they were seeking to one that permitted remote work. Because so many remote work opportunities opened up, new roles are not available to workers who were previously unqualified due to geography.
Many workers are switching to jobs in the high-demand sectors that are more likely to provide hybrid work. According to LinkedIn, from August to October 2021, workers moving to software and IT services more than doubled year over year.
IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
While much attention in the media is paid to employee dissatisfaction with wages, compensation actually ranks 16th when predicting employee turnover.
Instead, the largest predictor of employee resignations was a toxic work culture. The other top reasons for resignation are job insecurity, high levels of innovation, failure to recognize performance, and a poor response to COVID-19.
EMPLOYERS REACTIONS
Workers are looking for flexibility that their current jobs can't offer. According to ZipRecruiter, 54% of workers surveyed said they preferred a job that let them work from home option. That's up from 3% before the pandemic, but the figures show that while a flexible work environment is in demand, employers are not always delivering.
Employees are choosing the work conditions they prefer. Employers should do the same.
Now is the time for employers to figure out who they are, what they need, and who they want to serve. They have a huge opportunity to align their people with their values, and be selective about the customer, clients, vendors, and other organizations they choose to do business with.
