The Great Resignation seems to be largely one of quitting a job that sucks and finding a new job that sucks at least somewhat less. Relatively few quits seem to be going into self-employment or gig life. Too much uncertainty. Income variations major. Hustling for work 24/7 not happy for many folks. Where is this all heading?
Job “quits” hit another record high in November 2021 of 4.5 million – 3% of total employment. In just one month. Of course this reflects people changing jobs since most still need to earn a living. A high quits rate is generally thought to reflect high worker confidence in economic conditions and opportunities. This Great Resignation tsunami may also reflect serious worker job quality dissatisfaction. But what is “job quality” in practice? Today.
Over 4 million workers are presently quitting their jobs each month – 50 million a year at this rate. This is not close to normal. It is a tsunami. COVID seems to have initiated this massive trend but it is continuing even as COVID and its kin begin to fade as concerns. Something far more fundamental is happening to the workforce.
COVID-19 sent all but “essential” workers home for over a year in many cases. These were mostly “office-based workers”. There is now a major push by more than a few employers to bring nearly all of their workforce back to the office. But this workforce has changed dramatically and probably permanently. Back to the office is just not going to work for many.
Shortages of everything is being reported as a catastrophe. We may well be doomed. But what if this is just a symptom of massive changes underway that are driven by the COVID black swan? Changes that were inevitable in our way-too-brittle world. If so, this shifts our management context to one of emerging challenge and opportunity, not one dealing in hindsight with catastrophe.
