The Great Resignation

THE GREAT RESIGNATION
In 2021 three words that changed the world were THE GREAT RESIGNATION.
THE GREAT RESIGNATION was primarily fueled by burnout, but other factors include the
desire to move to work from home and to a more stable profession.
During an interview with Bloomberg in May, Anthony Klotz, an organisational psychologist
and professor at Texas A&M University, coined the phrase to characterise the surge of people
quitting their employment due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which caused many to
reconsider where, how, and why we work.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2021 November Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Summary, "quits" (the number of persons who quit their jobs) increased by 370,000
from the previous month, reaching an high of 4.5 million. Although the number decreased
marginally in December, it remains high. To put things in perspective, according to BLS data,
the number of people that quit between July and December 2021 was as follows:
 July: 4,028,000
 August: 4,270,000
 September: 4,362,000
 October: 4,157,000
 November: 4,500,000
 December: 4,300,000
That’s 25.6 million quits within the last half of 2021.
In November 2021, 4.5 million people voluntarily left their employment, with 3% of the
workforce resigning each month, a "all-time high," according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. To put these figures in context, the hotel, healthcare, transportation, and
warehousing industries have been affected the worst by the Great Resignation, and among
those who have opted out of work, while many others were willing to look for new
opportunities. In several Central and Eastern European countries, the skilled labour force has
declined. Many people began to see "work-free" living as a viable option after experiencing
and surviving pandemic lockdowns. Mid-career employees have the greatest resigning rates.
The technology and healthcare industries have the highest resignation rates.
According to Payscale, "The Great Resignation" is fueled primarily by front-line and low-
wage hourly workers, a claim that supports the quits witnessed in the retail and hospitality
industries. These workers, who make up a significant portion of the workforce, have gained
leverage as a result of the pandemic's effects. High labour competitiveness, a higher cost of
living, and a culture that now values formerly devalued service employees are among these
conditions. Now that employees are aware that there are businesses out there that will provide
them with flexibility, mental health assistance, and additional time off to help them avoid
burnout, it's natural for them to seek change. With increased benefits and more options from
employers, it's possible that pandemic-affected occupations, such as servers with degrees,
may seek to pivot to work that is more closely related to their major. This entails not just
improving their résumé but also networking to meet new people.
India may not be affected by the fundamental transformation in the labour market that is
taking place in industrialised nations. This is owing to the disparities between developed and
developing economies in terms of social protection and citizen per capita income. Although
India looks to be mostly unaffected by the global economic downturn, it is experiencing a
unique labour situation. Employee churn rates are soaring in some organisations, particularly
in the technology sector. As the Covid outbreak fades, India's labour pool is experiencing
tremendous churn across a wide range of industries. Although some individuals are leaving
their employment permanently to join the growing startup ecosystem, the number of people
leaving occupations permanently is small. According to analysts, although factors such as
workplace burnout, poor wages, adequate social security protection, and unfair treatment by
employers drive this trend in the United States and Europe, increased employee churn in
India is largely limited to well-paying, white-collar employment.
White-collar workers with specialised or technical skills are also job hopping due to greater
opportunities, including higher salary and perks, according to Payscale. Furthermore, remote
work is thought to have made it simpler for employees to resign because they no longer have
intimate relationships with people they haven't seen in person for nearly two years in certain
circumstances.
Companies can retain excellent personnel through a variety of methods. The first is to allow
for lateral job transitions. According to the report, burnout is induced by a lack of new
challenges and opportunity to try something new. When employees are given new jobs at
their companies, they are around 12% less likely to resign. International postings are
especially appealing since they offer unique opportunities. According to the survey,
companies with a positive work culture are less likely to lose employees. Organizing more
out-of-office excursions, hosting more cooperative social events, and providing employees
with benefits such as happy hours are all examples of ways to improve the workplace.
Employers are now scrambling to figure out how to rehire these employees or, at the absolute
least, locate qualified substitutes.Things that HRs are doing to cope up with the great
resignation are-
 Promoting a good corporate culture:
It is more important than ever for a company to be recognized by a candidate as a desirable
employer, not as a last resort. HRs are conducting regular employee surveys to get valuable
feedback on what is working, but it is important to follow up on the feedback. Practical
responses such as policy changes, trial periods, and brainstorming sessions can greatly help
create and continuously improve a good corporate culture. Of course, everyone has the same
basic need to feel safe at home and at work. As you know, the pandemic has introduced many
new safety requirements, and many employers are taking concrete steps to reduce their
chances of getting the virus, such as training, protective equipment, and emergency
preparedness. An equally important step is to hire only those who meet the desired
qualifications after a thorough background check process. These usually include criminal
records, employment and education reviews, and drug screening. For some roles, background
checks may also include job-specific requirements such as fitness checks, additional health
checks, and vehicle registration checks.
 Making room for informed decisions, not enthusiastic discussions:
Invalidating the sequence of events that resulted in an employee submitting a resignation
leads to the root cause and obscures the reason. It doesn't help if you plan to attack your
employees by encouraging them to. They probably haven't verbally stated the actual reason
for their resignation. Don't force them on it. Not much information can be extracted from it.
Instead, plan ways to get internal approval that is essential to solving the problem, and make
informed decisions about which type of customer retention effort is most effective.
The "Great Resignation" is not affecting every industry or organisation in the same way, but
those that want to stay afloat will need to reconsider how they treat their employees and what
sort of workplace culture they want to create. They can begin by adopting a "employee-
centric" decision-making strategy and accepting full accountability for staff morale. While
pay should not be the main factor in deciding whether or not to take a job, there is a growing
expectation among younger workers for more pay and better perks.
References:
 https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-talent-acquisition/articles/the-great-
resignation-how-companies-can-cope-with-the-mass-exodus
 https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/great-resignation-in-the-us-covid-
562423.html
 https://www.peoplematters.in/site/interstitial?return_to=%2Farticle%2Fstrategic-hr
%2Fhow-can-hr-stop-the-great-resignation-32004
SUBMITTED BY-
TANISHA PITALIA
210069

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