What Has The Great Resignation Meant For Companies Since the Pandemic?

The Great Resignation has been one of the most interesting phenomena we have witnessed in the past few years.

Known in some circles as the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle, it has been an ongoing economic trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse, beginning in early 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the most cited reasons for resigning include wage stagnation amid the rising cost of living, limited opportunities for career advancement, hostile work environments, lack of benefits, inflexible remote-work policies, and long-lasting job dissatisfaction. Interestingly, the most likely to quit have been workers in hospitality, healthcare, and education.

The great implications

This all sounds like a natural reaction to circumstance and the amount of reflection and changes that took place during this time. But what impact has it had on companies?

In truth, it has caused a great many problems. Hiring new people costs a great deal of money and those who quit for pastures new left many companies with unexpected expenditures.

This mass migration has also put companies in a difficult situation as staff shortages meant it was harder to function at full capacity.

Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the association for human resources professionals, found that between April and June 2021, 3.2 percent of the UK working population made a job to job move.

Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index also found that 43% of employed people surveyed said they were somewhat likely or extremely likely to consider changing jobs within the next year.

What does this mean now in 2023?

As a result of this, if businesses didn’t directly have any resignations, then the knock on effects in supply chains were definitely felt, causing disruption and slowdown.

Businesses should therefore now be very wary of hiring old staff, especially if they have shown they will leave at a moment’s notice. The fear that this will happen again is a very real concern.

Employers need to make sure the attractive packages they offer are right from the outset and be clear on what they are and aren’t willing to offer.

The Great Resignation has also shown the power that employees have, but some went too far with the demands that they wanted and subsequently didn’t get it. As they say, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and initial novelties such as perks and hybrid working sometimes get outshined by the demands and responsibilities that jobs entail.

Companies need to ensure that they do listen to workers and respond to them to make sure there is a package which suits everyone as well as working on retaining staff. After all it costs less to retain than to hire and train.

With all this in mind, employees need to be careful. Economic times are still uncertain and although there are labour shortages at the moment, that can change very quickly. Being too cocksure at a time like this may not end particularly well.”