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While millions of workers around the world cling to jobs that have enabled them to better weather the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, in the United States the numbers of voluntary resignations exceed their historic record.
Almost four million workers, or 2.7% of the total labor force, left their jobs last April – the highest number since this record began in 2000.
The data seem to confirm the materialization of a realignment of the labor market that American academic Anthony Klotz has dubbed “the Great Renunciation”.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit jobs in the United States with brutal force. In just two months, Between February and April 2020, the number of unemployed rose from 5,717,000 to 23,109,000, where a gradual decline began as governments, businesses and workers found a way to adapt and keep the economy going.
Despite the still partial reactivation of the economy, the unemployment rate stood at 5.8% last May, well below the 14.8% it reached in April 2020, but still above 3, 5% in the one where you were before the pandemic.
Thus, the wave of resignations contrasts with the fact that in the United States there are still more than 9.3 million unemployed, according to figures from the Department of Labor for the month of May.
The “Great Renunciation” may also become a worldwide phenomenon, judging by the results of a study commissioned by Microsoft which reveals that more than 40% of the global workforce assesses the possibility of changing employers this year.
But why are so many people quitting their jobs?
Postponed resignations, burnout and revelations
While the reasons why individual workers may decide to quit are innumerable, Anthony Klotz, associate professor of management at the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University, says there were four specific factors that led him to anticipate this phenomenon. .
The first of these is that many employees who were planning to step down in 2020 have chosen to delay this decision.
“Between 2015 and 2019, the number of resignations in the United States has increased year on year, but that number has dropped significantly in 2020, which makes sense given the uncertainty of the pandemic. These people stayed in their jobs even though they wanted to leave it. Klotz told BBC Mundo.
It is estimated that in 2020, there were nearly six million fewer resignations in the United States provided that.
The expert explains that once the vaccination progresses and the economy improves, it was to be expected that those people who had already decided to quit would finally take the step.
“The latest statistics from the Ministry of Labor showing there was an all-time high for quits in April lead me to believe that many of these people have already started quitting their jobs,” Klotz said.
The second factor at the origin of this phenomenon is the “burnout”.
“We know from a lot of research that when people feel exhausted at work, they’re more likely to quit. And we’ve seen many stories of essential workers, but also many people working from home while trying. to achieve a balance between their family and their job, they experience high levels of burnout. At present, there are more “burned” workers than there are normally. “Klotz note.
This expert in organizational psychology assures that the only remedy for this type of burnout is to rest well, so it is likely that those who do not have the possibility of it see the resignation as a possible solution to their situation.
A third factor behind this wave of resignations, according to Klotz, are the disclosures o epifanías.
He explains that sometimes people are happy with their jobs and suddenly something happens that makes them think about leaving the job, such as not getting the promotion they were hoping for, a coworker’s resignation and similar situations.
“Now With the pandemic, almost all of us have suffered an impact that has made us revaluate our lives, which is why many people have had these revelations: some realized they wanted to spend more time with family; others now feel that their work is not as important as they thought or want to do their own business, ”he explains.
“I think there are a lot of people who are planning to change their lives and that often means a career turn,” he adds.
The rise of teleworking
The fourth factor behind the “Great Resignation” concerns people who, during the pandemic, adapted to working from home and no longer want to return to the office, although for Klotz this is a lower percentage.
“As human beings, we have a fundamental need to enjoy autonomy. When working remotely, you can structure your day however you want and you have a lot more flexibility than in the office. Therefore, for many people who do not want to lose this freedom. Resigning to look for a remote or hybrid job may be an option, ”explains the expert.
An international study commissioned by Microsoft reveals that 70% of employees want companies to maintain flexible remote working options and that in fact 45% of those who work remotely plan to move to a new location now that they can make a living without going to the office.
And more and more companies are ready to offer this possibility to their employees. According to data provided by LinkedIn to BBC Mundo, ads offering remote jobs on this platform they quintupled between May 2020 and May 2021.
The media and communication sector leads the distance job vacancies (27%), followed by the software and information technology industry (22%).
At the same time, nearly 25% of all job applications filed between the end of April and May are for remote workstations.
Opportunities for the lowest paid
A fifth factor that is behind this wave of resignations, according to many analysts, is linked to the plight of many of the lowest paid workers such as restaurant and hotel workers.
According to figures from the Ministry of Labor, among those who quit their jobs last April, there were more than 740,000 people who came from leisure, hospitality and catering. This figure is equivalent to 5.3% of all workers in this sector.
The abrupt reopening of the economy created a great demand for these types of employees, forcing companies to offer different types of incentives (including better wages) to try to fill vacant positions.
“There is a lot of turnover in low-paying jobs where people don’t really have a career progression. If you find a job that offers you just a little more, it doesn’t cost you anything to change it, ”Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter labor economist, explained to The New York Times.
An upheaval in the labor market
Klotz says this whole picture involves a very complex situation for companies, although he points out that they are already designed to deal with the demands of retaining their workers and finding new talent.
“What makes this a unique challenge is the type of work arrangement (post-pandemic) because for most companies there is no one right answer in terms of the flexibility they should give. to their employees.
“I hope a lot of organizations are talking to their workers to figure out what they want, but at the end of the day companies will have to make a decision and say ‘this is what we are going to do.’ And there will be employees who won’t be there … happy, including -probably- many of the best, ”he says.
“It’s like a sort of big reorganization: there will be companies that want to come back completely to face-to-face work, some will choose to do it completely remotely and others will choose a hybrid format and workers will seek employment in those who offer the form of work they want “he adds.
Cassie Whitlock, head of human resources for the talent management platform BambooHR, believes that companies that want to force workers back into the office are the ones most at risk of losing them.
“The employees have been working remotely for a year and it has worked. They will want to know why they cannot continue to do so. If you’re going to ask them to come back, you better have a convincing argument “, advirtió Whitlock a Fast Company.
Klotz doesn’t necessarily see anything wrong with some organizations that wish to return to the “normal” way of working before the pandemic, but he warns that many will find that their employees want a “new normal.”
“Returning to the office might be the right thing to do for their type of business, but they will likely risk losing employees who want this new normal. These companies will also miss out on opportunities in terms of competing for talent in the labor market. .for those who offer greater flexibility in terms of remote and hybrid work are more likely to recruit workers globally “, he rocks.
Klotz believes that one of the long-term consequences of all these changes in the labor market will be that workers will have many more options in terms of working time arrangements: face-to-face, remote and hybrid.
“It is possible to imagine that at different stages, you will be able to choose the formula that suits you best. Probably when you are 20 you will want to be in the office; at 30, with a young family, you will look for a hybrid model and later, you will choose the job. Thus, you will be able to forge this type of career, something which was really very difficult to do before the pandemic, ”he concludes.
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