10 Reasons “The Great Resignation” is the New Normal

10 Reasons “The Great Resignation” is the New Normal

Today’s minute-to-minute media tells us repeatedly that we are now in “The Great Resignation”, that recent numbers of monthly employee quits have consistently exceeded their all-time highs. These newsflashes, though, won’t stop our managers from demanding that we raise pay/get better benefits/whatever to retain our teams…nor will it stop them from demanding five qualified candidates for each opening caused by those quits.

None of these national trends are within our control. So we need some understanding, some compassion, some manager co-ownership of this problem so we can maintain our sanity. The goal here is to provide these managers with a list of reasons why we are having “The Great Resignation” so they can at least understand. Here is list of 10 reasons to give them:

  1. Three events combined over the past few years to cause a tectonic shift regarding Americans wanting more control over their lives: (1) #MeToo caused women to say enough is enough regarding sexual harassment, (2) George Floyd’s murder…and the filming of it…drove Americans of all skin colors to say the same regarding unnecessary violence, and (3) the pandemic’s impact on job security caused especially young workers to question how they want to work for the rest of their lives.
  2. As a result, nearly 8 million more workers have voluntarily quit their jobs through November 2021 compared to that same period during our most recent non-Covid year of 2019.[i]
  3. More women are quitting than men which could mean additional job flexibility will be required to win them back.
  4. Fueling so many quits, the number of new entrepreneurs during this period has increased by 24%.[ii]
  5. Covid caused 2.4 million more Americans than expected to retire than during this period rather than take on the risks of working during Covid.[iii]
  6. The US labor force participation rate will continue to drop during this decade as the youngest baby boomers will reach 65 by 2030[iv]
  7. And this is happening while the population growth rate of the U.S. continues its downward spiral over the past 70 years, culminating in our population growing at a slower rate in 2021 than in any other year since the founding of the nation.[v]
  8. The U.S. issued 1.2 million fewer foreign workers during this period, further draining our workforce,[vi] on the heels of a several-year trend that fewer doctors, scientists, and other foreigners refuse to move to the U.S. due to “toxic politics”.[vii]
  9. And let’s not forget that nearly 850,000 Americans have died from Covid, further depleting our workforce numbers.[viii]
  10. Oh…and there are over 10 million open jobs for our remaining employees to consider, all available by tapping the keyboards we have purchased for them.[ix]

We know that’s a lot to chew on. The bottom line is there are fewer workers and those workers have become far more choosey. They have suddenly re-drawn the map to where they have more power and we as employers have less.

This gloomy picture would be incomplete, though, without looking beyond today, wondering how long will the workforce clouds stay dark. But there is no good news there, either. As I first reported in November, two recent studies are summarized here:

  • The Wall Street Journal reported the results of a survey conducted with a large group of economists. Of the 52 economists surveyed, 22 predicted that workforce participation would never return to its pre-pandemic levels. The Journal summarized by saying this:

“Many expect the labor shortage to last at least several more years, and some say it’s permanent”.[i]

  • Time Magazine found a different angle on “The Great Resignation”:

“Economists predict that the Great Resignation is only getting started, especially for Gen Z and millennial workers who are well-positioned to find new ways to earn income.”[ii]

Gen Z and millennials comprise more than half of our workforce. And since their dominance in our workforce increases each year, millennials alone will make up a full 75% of our workforce by 2025. So any prediction that their participation in the current Great Resignation period will continue to grow should send shivers through all of us. The oldest millennials turn 40 this year…meaning those generalizations that all young people are millennials or the reverse, that all millennials are young, have run their course.

So here are three things every reader of this piece should do:

  1. Ensure all c-suite executives and members of your board know that workforce issues are the top-driving, max-to-the-top #1 strategic mandates for years to come, surpassing all others because your company cannot make any money without people…and the right people.
  1. Retaining top talent is more important than recruiting top talent; you have more advantages to retain vs recruit, and without retention recruiting is dog-chasing-tail.
  1. Know that there IS an employee retention strategy that works and it is here: https://c-suiteanalytics.com/solutions/comprehensive-turnover-solution/

Next week I’ll present a report that proves workers are still leaving bosses and not companies, even during “The Great Resignation”. Leader-driven employee retention fixes are there for you, and they are far more impactful than trying to pay as much as Amazon. Let’s be in this retention battle together.

Our Comprehensive Turnover Solution is designed to get results for companies like yours by cutting turnover 30% and more even during “The Great Resignation”. Contact me at DFinnegan@C-SuiteAnalytics.com for a free consultation how you can get results too with our proven solution.

[i] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

[ii] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/business/startup-business-creation-pandemic.html

[iii] https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/economic-synopses/2021/10/15/the-covid-retirement-boom

[iv] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecopro.pdf

[v] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/12/us-population-grew-in-2021-slowest-rate-since-founding-of-the-nation.html

[vi] https://www.cato.org/blog/us-issued-12-million-fewer-visas-work-eligible-foreigners-march-2020

[vii] https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/new-survey-expats-dont-want-to-come-to-america-any.html

[viii] https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailydeaths

[ix] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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