The Great Resignation

What Is the Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation (also known as the Big Quit) refers to a widespread trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs. The COVID-19 pandemic played a part in triggering the Great Resignation, which began in early 2021 and lasted for a few years.

Factors That Drove the Great Resignation

While the pandemic alone didn’t cause the Great Resignation (the nation’s quit rate had been steadily increasing between 2009 and 2019), it did exacerbate existing issues in the workplace that pushed droves of people to leave their jobs.

A confluence of factors contributed to the Great Resignation, such as:

Remote Work

When the “new normal” forced several employees to shift to a remote work model, they realized they preferred the flexibility. The desire for better work-life balance made many unwilling to return to jobs that reinstated in-office work.

Safety Concerns

Aside from the convenience factor, many people preferred remote work due to fears of contracting the coronavirus. According to Gallup, this was a top concern for 26% of US employees in 2022.

Retirement

Older employees, who were more susceptible to becoming severely ill with COVID-19, may have used the pandemic as an opportunity to retire and protect themselves. Pew Research Center reported that 50.3% of US adults 55 and older were retired towards the end of 2021.

New Priorities

Having to confront mortality caused employees to reevaluate their priorities. While hustle culture had been glorified for decades, the pandemic pushed many people to seek more personally fulfilling job opportunities that also provided flexibility and comprehensive benefits to help them care for their physical and mental health.

Changing Labor Market Dynamics

While employers generally have the upper hand in the power dynamic, the surge in job openings gave employees more leverage during the Great Resignation to find more preferable opportunities and negotiate for better salaries, benefits, and working conditions. According to Great Resignation statistics, job openings exceeded hires by 4.81 million by the start of 2022.

The Impact of the Great Resignation on Businesses

The Great Resignation impacted businesses in several ways:

Less Applicants

Several industries were hit hard by the Great Resignation labor shortage. For example, ZipRecruiter received an average of only 18 applicants for restaurant jobs in 2021, compared to 61 back in 2019.

Revamped Compensation Packages

Since employers were competing for a small pool of applicants, they had to offer more enticing pay rates and benefits. Specifically, many organizations provided incentives such as signing bonuses, shorter workweeks, pet insurance, and paid parental leave.

Loss of Productivity

High employee turnover disrupted business operations since institutional knowledge was lost. The remaining employees had to take on additional responsibilities while employers scrambled to find and train new hires, which contributed to burnout.

Decline in Customer Service

Businesses being understaffed negatively impacted the customer experience, as wait times were significantly longer and service was intermittent. Additionally, essential workers in customer-facing positions generally experienced higher levels of stress and fatigue.

Is the Great Resignation Over?

According to the US Census Bureau, the Great Resignation ended in 2023 and transitioned into the Great Reshuffle. In this phase, some workers left the workforce altogether, others quit and eventually re-entered the labor market, and others switched jobs with little or no break in employment.

Improving the Employee Experience in Your Organization

The Great Resignation shone a light on longstanding issues in the workplace. To improve employee experience and retention, consider the following strategies:

Be Flexible

The nine-to-five office schedule doesn’t work for everyone. Provide a flexible workplace that allows employees to create their own schedule based on when and where they’re personally the most productive.

Offer Meaningful Benefits

Free snacks or entertainment-related perks are nice but likely don’t align with your employees’ priorities. For example, if most of your employees are parents, offering benefits such as paid parental leave and on-site childcare can be a powerful retention tool.

Develop Strong Leaders

No matter how exciting your company mission is, employees won’t stick around if they don’t feel motivated or supported by their managers. Invest in training and development programs for managers to improve their communication, emotional intelligence, and leadership skills.

Monitor Morale

Instead of scrambling to fill vacant positions, proactively monitor employee satisfaction and morale to discover and address issues early. Leverage anonymous surveys to unlock actionable employee feedback.