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Recovering from The Great Resignation
Beatrice Wake • Nov 02, 2022
As the Great Resignation continues, employees are increasingly voicing what they need and want from their employers. Employees are continuing to leave their jobs searching for better work life balance, flexibility, better treatment, and better schedules.
As we move forward, the Great Resignation or as some call it, The Great Upgrade will have a long-lasting impact on the future of work. As we can see from the news around the country and in our own workspaces, important dialogue is happening between employees and employers. The biggest topics are around, mental health and well-being, empathy, and environmental, social, and corporate governance.
Below are a few statistics to think about on the current state of our work force, suggestions on redefining work as we know it and understanding how companies and employees are changing their priorities during this incredible shift.
- Worker retention is more challenging than pre-pandemic. The rate of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs is 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- Leading reasons for leaving a job in 2021 included feeling disrespected at work (57%), insufficient benefits (43%), and long working hours (39%). (Source: Pew Research).
- Employee expectations around wellness are changing. Mental and emotional well-being have surpassed physical well-being as a critical focus for employer well programs. (Source: HR.com)
- Employers are making health and well-being a priority. A 2022 study found that 87% of U.S. employers surveyed were making it a priority to improve or enhance their health and well-being benefits: example – Virtual care. (Source: WTW)
- Flexibility and work-life balance trump financial compensation. 63% of job seekers recently surveyed indicated work-life balance was their top priority when picking a new job, above compensation.
- The same survey found that workers are 2.6 times more likely to report being happy when satisfied with their companies’ time and location flexibility. (Source: LinkedIn)
- Employees want empathetic leaders. Nearly 90% of U.S. workers surveyed said that empathetic leadership leads to higher job satisfaction, with many looking for empathetic qualities including trust, openness and transparency, and follow-through. (Source: Gallup).
- Company culture matters. A recent analysis found that a toxic corporate culture is 10.4 times more powerful than compensation in predicting a company’s turnover. (Source: MIT Sloan Management Review).
The current job market does give employees the opportunity and leverage they need to be patient and wait for the right job. Some experts predict that the Great Resignation will be over by 2023. While that may be true, the workforce and industry employment standards will never be the same. I do believe that while employers are deciding, the pay, the job descriptions, the hours and opportunities, that they are intentionally listening to the workforce and are trying to be sensitive and incorporating new strategies and benefits for this new normal.
The job market, quiet quitting, uprise of the digital age, and the decline of DEI? The professional world moves quickly, and it’s easy to get lost in the conundrum of new news. Here is your mid-year update. AI is Updating…Surprise Surprise Generative AI is updating their experience from transactional to a more personal approach. Individuals use of the internet will change, implementing 2-way conversation and solution focused models allowing users to get a more catered response. These updates will grant users a deeper understanding, and companies a more “human-like” vision of the brand. The New Future of Planning The concept of tradition has been molded, shifted, and completely torn apart in the past decade. Most of these shifts are seen as positive, yet some pose greater challenges than not. The rise of cost of living and cost of consummation has individuals adjusting their priorities. The global pandemic also threw a wrench in the ways of planning, pushing organizations to shift focus on fluidity and flexibility to ensure retention and growth. The Not So Quiet Quitting Quiet Quitting is a term that has been frequently thrown around since the pandemic. Commonly coined by social media, the act of quiet quitting refers to an employee doing the minimum requirements of their job, lacking effort, creativity, and excitement. According to a Gallup survey of workers taken in June 2022, quiet quitters make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce. This act can be avoided by managers and organizations through regular check ins, employee surveys, and attention to creating a work-life balance. Technology in 2024: Helpful or Overwhelming? Tech advances are happening so rapidly, many feel that it’s become almost impossible to keep up. The advancement of technology is meant to make life easier, however some feel it’s doing the opposite. In addition to user error, technology is also playing a major part in mental health deterioration and wellbeing. The battle for attention, the pull of creativity, and most importantly – the brain rot. Are we letting this go too far?
Growing your organization requires the right team. Hiring the right team requires the right approach. Vetting and getting to know potential hires is key to building an effective culture. Interviewing candidates is your first chance to understanding applicants, their skill sets, their professional goals, and more. But just as you are vetting applicants, they are vetting you. The interview process allows applicants to gain a better understanding of your organization’s goals, culture, and needs. Setting the right example and perspective on your company begins with your interviews. One wrong or controversial question, and that could break a potential beneficial business relationship. See below for examples of questions to avoid asking candidates in interviews, and why. Are you planning to start a family soon/Are you planning to expand your family soon? While this seems like an obvious conflict, many companies are still asking this to potential employers. This makes the applicant feel like that would make or break their candidacy. Mothers and fathers in business want to feel support from their employer, an unspoken sense of support. Starting a family or having a family does not dictate a candidate’s professional abilities, therefore there is no reason to ask. What are your religious, political, and sexual stances? Again, these are personal attributes that do not affect a candidate’s ability to perform professionally, therefore can be seen as inappropriate and reason for termination of consideration for candidacy. Where are you originally from? While on the surface this may seem like an innocent question, it is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 making it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of national origin. If you ask, you could be accused of discriminating against them. You can, however, ask if the candidate will be able to report to the position location required by the job opening. How old are you? It is illegal to ask someone’s age, you are only allowed to confirm the candidate is of legal age to work full time, being 18 years old. What salary did you make at your previous role? Many states have implemented a salary transparency law, enforcing job postings and descriptions must portray the salary range for the position. Even if your state does not have this law, it is safe to avoid asking a person’s salary history. Instead, share the salary range and confirm the candidate’s expectations are within the range. As the market continues to be competitive and ever changing, engaging a 3 rd party service like Diverse Talent can greatly benefit in finding your organization’s right fit based on our industry expertise.
