As America moves away from Covid, one of the biggest issues that has risen both during and after the pandemic is the number of people resigning or not returning to the jobs they held before the pandemic.
Back in 2021, an associate professor of management from Texas A&M University named Anthony Klotz proposed a term called “The Great Resignation,” and explained that the pandemic and changes in the economy are causing workers to leave the workforce in extreme numbers.
This title spoke of the rise of people leaving their jobs after everything returned to the way it was before the pandemic. “The great resignation is coming,” Klotz said in an interview by Bloomberg.
After two years of people dealing with changes in the economy and millions of job cuts, things have changed including the mindset of the workforce. Many workers have begun reflecting on their lives and jobs, and the effects are visible.
In January of 2022, CNBC News reported that around 4.3 million people had quit their jobs. The article continued on, saying, “The elevated level in early 2022 comes off a year in which almost 48 million people quit their jobs, an annual record.”
Microsoft also reported, “With over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work will be critical for attracting and retaining diverse talent.”
As the year has continued, so has the resignation trend. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed in a news release, “In February, the number and rate of quits were little changed at 4.4 million and 2.9 percent, respectively.”
This number of people quitting was first reached back in mid-2021, which was predicted to be a major spike in the amount of Americans leaving their jobs and careers.
As more and more people think about leaving, one wonders why this trend is occurring when things are beginning to return back to a sense of normalcy.
BBC News gave one explanation stating that, “For some workers, the pandemic precipitated a shift in priorities, encouraging them to pursue a ‘dream job’, or transition to being a stay-at-home parent. But for many, many others, the decision to leave came as a result of the way their employer treated them during the pandemic.”
Pew Research found similar answers in a conducted survey last month: “Majorities of workers who quit a job in 2021 say low pay (63%), no opportunities for advancement (63%) and feeling disrespected at work (57%) were reasons why they quit, according to the Feb. 7-13 survey.”
Another answer was given by a Professor of Economics from Harvard University named Lawrence Katz. He called this a once-in-a-generation moment, naming it, “take this job and shove it.”
Katz gave two main factors. One was similar to BBC’s answer which was that many are questioning their wages, wishing to work remotely and unhappy with their slow employers.
The other factor was, in his words, “their financial situation is much better than it was coming out of the Great Recession, with the expansion of the social safety net and the stimulus payments during the pandemic period.”
In other words, because many have been dealing with their financial situation better due to more areas of support, they aren’t as worried about getting back to work and can focus more on getting a job that better suits them.
This has caused many workers and employers to begin discussing and debating on what actions to take in order to deal with the changing of times in this post-Covid world.
Many businesses continue to struggle with people quitting, asking for increased wages and changing careers.
Now, living in the post-pandemic world, the future still remains unknown and uncertain for many. The World Economic Forum wrote, “We have yet to see what a post-pandemic world and workplace will look like. What we can already see is that how we organize work and work together will not return to the way it was before the pandemic.”
As COVID subsides, a new challenge arises for businesses across the country. It is unclear whether or not the end of the pandemic will alter the worker calculations that have caused a great resignation. Regardless, worker retention remains a problem for the foreseeable future.