The Great Resignation

Statistics show that a much greater number of people than you would normally expect have resigned from their jobs over this last year.  This is most noticeable in the U.S. but it is not just limited to that country.  The phenomenon has been named the Great Resignation or the Big Quit.

 The analysis points to the IT industry and the health industry as the sectors most affected. In the case of IT it may just be a matter of the brakes being released on movement between companies and countries. There is a fairly steady rate of job change (or churn) in the IT world which was brought to a halt by COVID. Everyone stayed put.  Now it is perhaps a matter of catch-up.

 But in the health industry the cause is more likely to be burn-out.  Anthony Klotz, the U.S. organisational psychologist who coined the term, says that in his opinion the pandemic has caused many workers to re-evaluate what they are getting out of their jobs and what is important in their lives.  

 We know also that working at home has enabled a number of people to move out of big cities, and that these people may not be willing to return to business as usual.  A shortage of employees brought on by no immigration has opened up a number of positions so that employees are reconsidering their situation.  This has created a lively job market for those who wish to stay, with employers being advised that they need to think more carefully about how to attract employees.