The Great Resignation – Fact and fiction

The current worldwide trend for employees leaving their jobs has a name – ‘The Great Resignation’. What’s happening globally and what can businesses do to stem the flow?

The US Labor Department recorded 4.3 million Americans leaving their jobs in August 2021 – approximately 3% of the total workforce and the highest monthly number on record. In the UK, the Office for National Statistics reported one million ‘open’ jobs in the same month – also a record.

Clearly these are alarming figures that perhaps tell only half the story. More, the question should be how many employees are thinking of leaving their jobs? Many might argue that employees are always thinking about their next role, even if they're satisfied in their current position. It's healthy to plot your future career path after all.

Microsoft research revealed that 40% of the global workforce were considering leaving their current position in 2021 but a recent Trade Me survey found only 17% of people intend to leave their jobs in the next 12 months, despite the site advertising 40% more job vacancies than before the pandemic. (RNZ)

Differentials in age group and sector

Harvard Business Review estimates the biggest-hit age group is the 30-45 year-olds, and resignations are highest in the tech and health care industries – not the retail and food service industries, which you may expect to be the hardest hit.

Why? In the US, a fear of catching Covid, poor working conditions and the search for a better work/life balance are three of the primary drivers which go some way to explain the phenomenon. It could also explain why these figures can be viewed as lopsided.

But the pandemic has got employees thinking. Lockdowns, remote working without the commute and much less time spent in the office has got workers spending more time at home with the family while feeling less connected with their workplaces. (RNZ)

Careers.govt.nz suggests ‘COVID-19 is changing how, where, when, and what work is done. Now, across the world and in New Zealand, millions of people are planning to leave their jobs.

It includes people who:

• are burned out in their current role
• want more meaningful work or a role that fits their lifestyle better
• want better pay and conditions
• see good job opportunities available now

HR professionals say that resignations have a doubly negative knock-on effect for the employees left behind –pushing them to take on more responsibility until replacements are found, while damaging morale because seeing colleagues happily leave for greener pastures obviously raises doubts about an organisation’s ability to motivate and retain its staff.

For SMEs the impact is huge. It's tough to build a business with high employee turnover, especially when departments of just one or two personnel are common. It also costs money to advertise and find new staff – a minimum of 50-60% of an employee’s annual salary just to replace them.

Further, remaining staff often don’t have the skillsets to fill in the temporary gaps, and positions are taking longer to fill – with many Kiwi employers stating that it is harder and harder to match available roles to the quality of applications received.

‘The Great Resignation’ is certainly an alarm bell for employers to act positively – to drive hard to make their businesses places employees want to stay at and want to work for.

Again, Harvard Business Review asks employers to identify the root causes in the first instance, by conducting ‘detailed data analysis to determine what’s really causing your staff to leave’, then to develop tailored retention programmes ‘aimed at correcting the specific issues that your workplace struggles with most’.

Can initiating an employee retention strategy work for you? It has many benefits. It shows you are invested in your team which has been proven to create a happier, more satisfied workforce, and it will help attract new talent. When new recruits see employees have been at the same firm for more than three years it shows there’s a career path for those who want to take opportunities to rise.

Consider continuous training and access to professional development to upskill to inspire your employees to want to stay. Approximately 77% of employees feel ‘they’re on their own’ to develop their careers at a company, say The Harris Poll, a US-based Insights and Analytics group.

Training your teams isn’t just damage limitation. It’s about shaping a brilliant team for now and over many years; a team that possesses the necessary skills to excel at their jobs in an inspiring and supportive workplace.

Consider making upskilling a business imperative. It’s good financial sense to spend a smaller amount on training – to create higher-skilled, highly-motivated, more productive and loyal teams than just having your front door as a revolving door.

Are affordable training opportunities available? Of course, but '[make sure] everyone has access to those opportunities. You might be surprised who takes advantage and benefits the most from your offerings.’ (Forbes)

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