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The Great Resignation, also known as the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle, is an ongoing
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in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs ''en masse,'' beginning in early 2021 in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Among the most cited reasons for resigning include wage stagnation amid rising
cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...
, limited opportunities for career advancement, hostile work environments, lack of
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, inflexible remote-work policies, and long-lasting job dissatisfaction. Most likely to quit have been workers in
hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...
,
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, and education. Some economists have described the Great Resignation as akin to a
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...
. However, workforce participation in some regions has recovered or even exceeded the pre-pandemic rate. This suggests that instead of remaining out of the workforce for extended periods (which can be financially difficult, especially at a time of high inflation), many workers have been simply swapping jobs. The term "Great Resignation" was coined by Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at University College London's School of Management, in May 2021, when he predicted a sustained mass exodus.


Background

Between December 2000, when quit rates were first measured by the
United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...
, and February 2021, roughly a year following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. resignation rate never surpassed 2.4% of the total workforce per month. High quit rates indicate worker confidence in the ability to get higher paying jobs, which typically coincides with high
economic stability Economic stability is the absence of excessive fluctuations in the macroeconomy. An economy with fairly constant output growth and low and stable inflation would be considered economically stable. An economy with frequent large recessions, a pron ...
and low unemployment rates. Conversely, during periods of high unemployment, resignation rates tend to decrease as hire rates also decrease. For example, during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, the U.S. quit rate decreased from 2.0% to 1.3% as the hire rate fell from 3.7% to 2.8%. Resignation rates in the U.S. during the pandemic initially followed this pattern. In March and April 2020, a record 13.0 and 9.3 million workers (8.6% and 7.2%) were laid off, and the quit rate subsequently fell to a seven-year low of 1.6%. Much of the layoffs and resignations were driven by women, who disproportionately work in industries that were affected most by the lockdowns, like service industries and childcare. As the pandemic continued, however, workers began to quit their jobs in large numbers despite initially high unemployment.


Causes

According to
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
's ''Work Trend Index'', more than 40% of the global workforce were considering quitting their job in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic allowed workers to rethink their careers, work conditions, and long-term goals. As many workplaces attempted to bring their employees in-person, workers desired the freedom that
remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...
afforded them during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as schedule flexibility, which was the primary reason to look for a new job of the majority of those studied by
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in August 2021. Additionally, many workers, particularly in younger cohorts, are seeking to gain a better work–life balance. In the U.S., connections are also being drawn to reported increases in workplace stress and employee burnout. Moreover, millions of people now have long COVID; this disability can alter the ability or desire to work. Restaurants and hotels, industries that require in-person interactions, have been hit the hardest by waves of resignations. COVID-19 stimulus payments and rises in
unemployment benefits Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...
allowed those who relied on low-wage jobs for survival to stay home, although places where unemployment benefits were rolled back did not see significant job creation as a result. On the other hand, many workers who are dissatisfied with their jobs report that they cannot resign due to economic barriers, many of these workers being people of color. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of the U.S. nonprofit Restaurant Opportunities Center United, commented, "There's more competition across industries, so workers are feeling more empowered than ever before, but that doesn't mean everyone is able to leave their current jobs." According to a study conducted by
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, the exodus is being driven by
Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 20 ...
and
Generation Z Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birt ...
, who are more likely to be dissatisfied with their work. More than half of Gen Z reported planning to seek a new job within the next year. ''
Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, M ...
'' found that the cohort between 30 and 45 years old had the greatest increase in resignation rates. Racial minority, low-wage, and frontline workers are also more dissatisfied with their work in the United States, according to the asset management firm Mercer. An
IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glob ...
working paper by Carlo Pizzinelli and Ippei Shibata focused on causes of the loss in employment within the U.S. and U.K. labor markets in comparison to pre-COVID-19 levels. They identified job mismatch (that is, mismatch between the areas where people search for work and where the most vacancies are) as playing a "modest" role, being less significant than in the wake of the
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. The effect of the pandemic on women, sparking the so-called "She-cession", was deemed as accounting for some 16% of the total U.S. employment shortfall but little to none of the shortfall in the U.K. Meanwhile, the authors attribute 35% of the shortfall in both the U.K. and U.S. to older workers (aged 55–74) withdrawing from the labor force. On the other side, ''Harvard Business Review'' reported resignation rates for those aged 60–70 actually fell in 2021 (in comparison to 2020 rates). Some suggest that the tightness of the labor market is not due to workers resigning ''en masse'' or turning towards self-employment, but instead due to a shortage of
migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...
s caused by travel restrictions during the pandemic and a general rise in
anti-immigrant sentiment Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...
.


Impacts

There is disagreement as to whether or not the Great Resignation will have a lasting effect. Although quit rates remain high, many workers in Western countries have been returning to the labor force in large numbers in late 2021 and early 2022. In general, an aging population and a labor shortage accelerate industrial automation, not just to replace the "missing" workers but also to cut costs.


Australia

In February 2022, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg reported that the labor market had been experiencing a “Great Reshuffle” rather than a “Great Resignation”. He also reported that over one million workers started new jobs in the three months prior to November 2021, an increase of almost 10% prior to the pre-pandemic average. In the three months prior to February 2022, 300,000 workers reported resigning for better job opportunities, a record number. A main incentive may have been higher pay, as the typical Australian worker who switched jobs received a pay bump of 8% to 10%.


China

A similar
social protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
movement is occurring in China, referred to as '' tang ping'' (). It started roughly during the same time as the Great Resignation, in April 2021. It is a rejection of societal pressures to overwork, such as in the
996 working hour system The 996 working hour system () is a work schedule practiced by some companies in the People's Republic of China. It derives its name from its requirement that employees work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, 6 days per week; i.e. 72 hours per week. A nu ...
. Those who participate in ''tang ping'' instead choose to "lie down flat and get over the beatings" via a low-desire, more indifferent attitude towards life. Business magazine ''ABC Money'' claimed the lifestyle resonated with youth disillusioned by the government-endorsed " Chinese Dream", which encourages a life of hard work and sacrifice without
life satisfaction Life satisfaction is a measure of a person's well-being, assessed in terms of mood, relationship satisfaction, achieved goals, self-concepts, and self-perceived ability to cope with life. Life satisfaction involves a favorable attitude towards one ...
to show for it. The
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
(CCP) has worked to reject the idea through state-owned media and
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, though some party voices offer that the movement provides an opportunity to reflect on how best to cultivate diligence in young generations.


Europe

A survey by HR company SD Worx of 5,000 people in Belgium, France, the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands, found that employees in Germany had the most COVID-19-related resignations, with 6.0% of the workers leaving their jobs. This was followed by the United Kingdom with 4.7%, the Netherlands with 2.9%, and France with 2.3%. Belgium had the least number of resignations with 1.9%. Some preliminary data show an increase in the number of quits in Italy, starting in the second quarter of 2021. The registered increase was not only in absolute terms, but also in terms of quit rate (computed as quits over employed population) and of quit share (computed as quits over total contract terminations). In the United Kingdom between July and September 2021, over 400,000 workers left their jobs, up from 270,000 two years prior. There were a record high 1.3 million job vacancies in December 2021, or 4.4 vacancies for every 100 jobs. The U.K. workforce got smaller in 2020, the first time in over twenty years, largely due to older people retiring according to Tony Wilson, director of the
Institute for Employment Studies The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) is a British centre of research and consultancy on human resources and employment. Its research is frequently cited in the mainstream national media. The Institute's aim is to "help bring about sustainabl ...
. Between October and December 2021, the rate of U.K. workers aged 16 to 64 moving job-to-job was at an all-time high of 3.2%. Workers in their 30s (
Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 20 ...
) are the most likely to quit their jobs, followed by those in their 20s (
Generation Z Generation Z (or more commonly Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the Western demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birt ...
). However, by August 2022, many British workers have returned to their previous positions after quitting and some elderly Britons have opted out of retirement in order to pay their bills in the wake of high inflation. Some industries, like nursing, have been hit especially hard by burnout. In October 2021, before the
Omicron Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, ell, όμικρον) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel in contr ...
variant caused a new wave of cases, the
Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...
conducted a survey of over 9,000 British nursing staff in which 57% of respondents were either thinking about leaving or actively planning to leave their jobs. The primary factors reported were feeling undervalued, exhausted, and not being able to give adequate care.


India

India has witnessed large scale resignations across many sectors of the economy. The information technology sector in particular witnessed massive attrition, with over a million resignations in 2021.


United States

In April 2021, a record 4.0 million Americans quit their jobs. In June 2021, approximately 3.9 million American workers quit their jobs. Resignations are consistently the most prevalent in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, where 2.9% of the workforce voluntarily left their jobs in June, followed by the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
(2.8%) and the
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(2.6%). The
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is the most stable region, with 2.0% of workers quitting in June. According to a
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survey conducted in early August 2021, 65% of employees said they were looking for a new job and 88% of executives said their company was experiencing higher turnover than normal. A
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study published in ''Fortune'' magazine in October 2021 found that among
Fortune 1000 The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine '' Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and fo ...
companies, 73% of CEOs anticipated the work shortage would disrupt their businesses over the next 12 months, 57% believed attracting talent is among their company's biggest challenges, and 35% already expanded benefits to bolster
employee retention Employee retention is the ability of an organization to retain its employees and make sure the sustainability of employees. Employee retention can be represented by a simple statistic (for example, a retention rate of 80% usually indicates that an o ...
. Workers in the leisure and hospital industries had relatively high quit rates. In October 2021, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of ...
reported that food service workers' quit rates rose to 6.8%, which is well above the industry average of 4.1% over the last 20 years and still higher than the industry's quit peaks of 5% in 2006 and 2019. The retail industry had the second highest quit rates at 4.7%. From the start of the pandemic to November 2021, approximately one in five healthcare workers quit their jobs. Amidst the Great Resignation, October 2021 saw a strike wave known as Striketober, with over 100,000 American workers participating in or preparing for strike action. While discussing Striketober, some economists described the Great Resignation as workers participating in a
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...
against poor working conditions and low wages. By August 2022, however, the U.S. workforce has surpassed its size from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Many American workers took advantage of the labor shortage to trade their current jobs for those with higher salaries, more benefits, and better schedules. Some have started or joined labor unions. A number of prospective employers are also offering paid training in order to attract recruits. Still, the recovery of employment has been uneven, as low-wage sectors—especially leisure, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, and education—lose jobs to those that offer higher income. Although retirees (who need to supplement their incomes) have returned at a rate not seen since 2019, it remains unclear whether workers aged 55 and over, people more likely to quit, will ever return. Unsatisfied with their current positions, a record number of Americans quit to start their own businesses, only to face an acute labor shortage they helped to create. In fact, small businesses are the most likely to struggle to find qualified recruits. Some 16 million Americans suffer from long COVID, and of these, 2 to 4 million are kept out of work because if it. The shortage of workers has exacerbated the disruption of the domestic supply chain of the United States. In response to the problem, a number of firms have relocated to states with lower costs of doing business (and possibly with subsidies), a large pool of skilled workers, quality education, high standards of living, and good infrastructure. Wage growth has jumped; in December 2021, wage growth reached 4.5%, the highest since June 2001. Some employers in the
fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...
industry, like McDonalds, are providing more benefits, like college scholarships and healthcare benefits, to bring back workers. Public sector jobs have had higher worker retention as compared to private sector jobs, largely due to stronger benefits like
paid family leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
. Productivity has dropped during the Great Resignation because even when employees stay, they are not as productive as they were in the past.


In popular culture

Fans and media outlets drew connections between the Great Resignation and
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
's 2022 song " Break My Soul", specifically in the verse "Now I just fell in love / And I just quit my job".


See also

*
2021–2022 global supply chain crisis In 2021, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chains and shipments slowed, causing worldwide shortages and affecting consumer patterns. Causes of the economic slowdown included workers becoming sick with COVID-19 as well ...
*
2021–2022 inflation surge The 2021–2022 inflation surge is the higher-than-average economic inflation throughout much of the world that began in early 2021. It has been attributed to the 2021 global supply chain crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and unexpecte ...
* American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 * COVID-19 recession *
Critique of work Critique of work or critique of labour is the critique of, and wish to abolish, work ''as such'', and to critique what the critics of works deem wage slavery. Critique of work can be existential, and focus on how labour can be and/or feel meaning ...
*
Great Reset The Great Reset Initiative is an economic recovery plan drawn up by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was launched in June 2020, with a video featuring the then Prince of Wales Charles released to ...
*
Late capitalism Late capitalism, late-stage capitalism, or end-stage capitalism is a term first used in print by German economist Werner Sombart around the turn of the 20th century. In the late 2010s, the term began to be used in the United States and Canada t ...
* Labor history of the United States * Millennial socialism * Refusal of work *
r/antiwork r/antiwork is a subreddit associated with contemporary labor movements, critique of work, and the anti-work movement. The forum's slogan reads: "Unemployment for all, not just the rich!" Posts on the forum commonly describe employees' negative ...
* Quiet quitting


References


External links


Bureau of Labor Statistics resignation data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Resignation, The Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 in economics 2021 in international relations Economic history