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Highlights
- Around four million Americans left their jobs in April alone.
- Job vacancies are at a 20-year high.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to contemplate their hiring strategy
One of my favourite mentees, Sonal Gupta (name changed), who has turned out to be a competitive journalist, was recently talking to me about her professional career. She suddenly sprung a surprise, saying she might quit journalism. When I prodded further, she revealed she was contemplating to quit the profession in quest for work-life balance.
Ms Gupta is not alone. More than four million Americans quit their jobs in April. That helped put job vacancies at a 20-year high. Nearly two-thirds of US workers are looking for a new job.
Employees across the globe are voluntarily leaving their jobs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic from spring 2021 onwards. Termed as the ‘Great Resignation’ likely by Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at Mays Business School of Texas A&M University, the phenomenon is also called as the Big Quit.
Employees are resigning in droves: What’s fuelling the Big Quit?
According to studies, 65% of employees said they were looking for a new job and 88% of executives said their companies were experiencing higher turnover than normal.
But what’s the driving force behind this phenomenon? Analysts and human resource honchos say that they should have predicted this long time back. And much of the onus is falling on employers as to what they are doing to help people stay put in their organisation.
COVID-19 has turned out to be a life-changing event with many resorting to self-reflection about their job satisfaction. And it is culminating in the form of mass exits.
After the COVID-19 waves subsided, many employers attempted to bring their employees back to office, while the employees coveted the freedom to work from home during the pandemic. With telecommuting also came schedule flexibility – which turned out to be the primary reason to look for a new job. Additionally, many workers, particularly in younger cohorts, are seeking to gain a better work–life balance.
According to studies, the millennials are at the forefront of quitting their jobs.
Bottom Line:
Gone are the days when employees, saddled by the fear of joblessness and layoffs, were ready to pull out all the stops to cling to their jobs. The pandemic has brought about a paradigm shift in people’s perspectives, and they are ready to quit if the job does not align well with their priorities.
