What to make of the “Great Resignation”?
These headlines are everywhere: Great Resignation, Turnover Tsunami, Big Quit, Great Reshuffle. If you're reading this blog post, maybe you're part of it. Several of my clients are. Turns out, so am I. I started this business while still working in my long-term (but recently part-time) job at a college. As of May 13, I'll be part of the national wave of resignations as I leave a steady, institutional gig to work for myself at last. What's going on with this seismic shift and why does it matter?
For starters, there are more women resigning the men. Heather Long, an economics correspondent for The Washington Post, examined the gendered nature of these resignations when she pointed out: "The numbers are striking: 309,000 women over age 20 dropped out of the labor force in September, meaning they quit work or halted their job searches." My home state of Maine highlighted several of these women (as well as men) in a recent Mainebiz article. From early retirements to increased entrepreneurial ventures, the Great Resignation is fueling change in every corner of our country.
But, what exactly is happening? Derek Thompson, writing in The Atlantic , has an interesting take on what's going on. He points out that "The low-wage service-sector economy is experiencing the equivalent of "free agency" in a professional sports league. That makes it more like the Big Switch than the Big Quit." In addition to lower wage workers exploring better paying options, Thompson underscores that some so-called resignations are, indeed, workers retiring. "The Great Resignation isn’t really about burnout. And it’s not really about what most people think of as resignations. To put it as concisely as possible: The Great Resignation is mostly a dynamic “free agency” period for low-income workers switching jobs to make more money, plus a moderate surge of early retirements in a pandemic."
So, if it's people looking for better jobs and some people saying, "enough with any job," there may be some silver linings. Harvard University's Lawrence Katz, a labor economist, commented that the wave of resignations and retirements is forcing employers to focus on the work-life balance for their employees. Katz sees the possibility of a greater focus on "making work a bit more flexible and human." From where I sit as someone who supports women who are always balancing home and work demands, making work more flexible and human sounds like a promising development.
A few takeaways from all this media coverage:
1. It's still a tough time to be a parent and a paid worker. Childcare options remain challenging for many, and the virus hasn't allowed us any certainty with school schedules. Many of the lower wage workers not rushing to return to paid work are people (read: mostly women) struggling to find childcare or to deal with school closures. Moms and dads need workplaces that are flexible and supportive of families. Besides talking and writing about this, we can amplify messages from organizations like The Mom Project who are laser focused on this topic.
2. There are good jobs out there. It's still a candidate's market. That doesn't mean finding the right job is easy — it never is — but it does mean that interviewing is a two-way street. You are looking for the right match as much as the employer is. A huge part of my work is boosting confidence for women so we don't undersell our achievements or neglect to negotiate for good pay and benefits.
3. There are new opportunities. Covid has changed our world in so many ways that there may be entire fields that have new possibilities for you. Did you even know what Zoom was before March 2020? Don't be afraid to explore new fields and new types of work. Find help in navigating job sites and online resources that might open new paths to employment for you.
