The Future of Leadership/Great Resignation

Introduction

With the rise of the global COVID-19 pandemic, along came the Great Resignation, or so we thought. This is a term that was created by Anthony Klotz. The Great Resignation is something that has been starting since 2009. Workforces were trying to focus on their employees’ mental health during the pandemic, but still, employees were complaining about burnout. Companies are struggling with retaining employees. Employees know how they are valued in this market and they often can use that to their advantage. This chapter will look more into the Great Resignation and give advice to leaders in the field right now struggling with what has happened.

What is the Great Resignation and What Caused It

According to an article by Joseph Fuller and William Kerr in the Harvard Business Review, “The Great Resignation” did not start with the pandemic but instead has gradually been gaining momentum since 2009. However, this trend was not brought to light until Anthony Klotz coined the phrase “The Great Resignation”. Klotz stated, “I noticed four trends unique to the pandemic that I believed would each independently contribute to higher than normal levels of resignations in the United States, and that would lead to a massive wave of resignations when combined." Lo and behold he was right; after the initial COVID-19 scare started to pass and stimulus checks started being delivered, people started leaving their jobs in masses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “over 4 million people were leaving their jobs each month from December 2021 - December 2022."

“There are a number of reasons people are leaving their jobs in such mass quantities, including a reevaluation of priorities, a lack of remote work options, the inability to obtain child care, mistreatment by employers, low pay, and lack of advancement opportunities." The quote by Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, summed it up: “Instead of: no one wants to work anymore. Try: no one wants to be exploited anymore." In fact, according to a survey by Monster.com, “26% of workers would rather get a root canal than work in the office five days a week." All of this just speaks to the fact that employees across the nation feel as though they are not being treated fairly at work in one way or another, and they are finally standing up for themselves and doing something about it.

Amongst these reasons is the issue that many of us have faced at one time or another, burnout. “Between December 2020 and July 2021, employees reported a 21% increase in burnout and 17% increase in physical symptoms of stress like muscle tension and fatigue, as well as added work-life balance challenges and overall job stress, according to a survey by the digital wellness company meQuilibrium." There are two definitions of burnout in the Merriam Webster Dictionary “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration” and “to cause to fail, wear out, or become exhausted, especially from overwork or overuse." Both of these definitions describe much of what a large portion of the workforce is feeling due to high-stress environments and long hours at work. In the article, Burnout Prevention and Treatment, the authors state that “Whether you recognize the warning signs of impending burnout or you’re already past the breaking point, trying to push through the exhaustion and continuing as you have been will only cause further emotional and physical damage. Now is the time to pause and change direction by learning how you can help yourself overcome burnout and feel healthy and positive again." This is important because if you try to simply push through burnout without trying to find ways to help you deal with the underlying problem then you will simply make the issue worse for yourself. And we are at a point where people are realizing this and making changes to the way that they are living.

The Effects of the Great Resignation

Employees in the workforce realize how hard it is for their organizations to retain employees at this time. They know that they are needed and valued. Due to this, they are more likely to apply to other companies and threaten to leave their current companies in order to get raises. Not only are companies struggling to retain their employees, but also struggling to hire new employees.

Practical Advice for Leaders

A reason that leaders have found employees leaving their organizations is due to the benefits offered there. Benefits now mean more than insurance like we are used to thinking. Now employees are looking for more than that. The pandemic allowed people to work from home and live more flexible lives. Some employees liked that option and are looking for the same flexibility that they had during the lockdown. Flexibility is something that may differ from employee to employee, but it is important to interview candidates for open positions to see what they are looking for when it comes to flexibility. Another thing pertaining to this is looking into what flexibility means to your current employees as well. Once you do find out what that looks like, act upon what they like. If you allow your employees to feel like work is more flexible and that you want to work that out with them, then that is going to help your retention. You can be flexible due to remote work. This does not mean that you have to get rid of office work, but you can allow people to work from home in the mornings, or even let them leave a little early and finish up at home. People have lives outside of the office, so this model helps them to tend to their responsibilities while also working.

It is also important to look into your company’s culture. Recently culture has become more talked about. It is important to know how your employees feel about your organization. If you have a bad culture then employees will leave. Talk to your employees about how they feel about your current company culture. Depending on the organization, maybe even an anonymous survey would make employees feel like they are able to put all their feelings out there about the culture. Based on their responses you can see what needs to be improved.

Conclusion

The Great Resignation has been eye-opening for us. It is something that leaders were most likely not expecting when it came to their organization. These leaders have had to find new ways to recruit and retain their employees. Leaders have come up with creative ways to do this, and other leaders have struggled with the changes that needed to be made. It is important as leaders to make sure that your employees are being taken care of. Make sure that their needs are being taken care of. Communicate with these employees so you can create a great company culture that they are proud to be part of.