Quitting is just half the story: the truth behind the 'Great Resignation'

Source: The Guardian

Quitting is just half the story: the truth behind the ‘Great Resignation’

While quitting is usually an expression of optimism, 2021’s quits happened amid an economic picture that is tough to interpret

Rashida Kamal
Tue 4 Jan 2022 08.00 GMT

2021 was the year of the “Great Resignation” – a year when workers quit their jobs at historic rates. According to some, the trend was driven by an economic and psychological shift as employers struggled – and often failed – to tempt anxious staff to return to industries that have too often treated workers as dispensable. The truth is more complicated.

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The reasons for quitting or dropping out of the labor force are quite varied. The top reasons cited by experts continue to be lack of adequate childcare and health concerns about Covid, now exacerbated by Omicron. And while the framing of the Great Resignation places some emphasis on the idea that even knowledge workers are quitting from burnout or a sympathy with the budding anti-work movement, there are just as many reasons to suspect that many quit in search of better work opportunities, self employment, or, simply, higher pay.

Tellingly, some industries are seeing higher rates of quitting than others – leisure and hospitality, retail and healthcare being among the most affected.

These are generally low-paying industries where there are now more job openings than workers – a gap has been widening. Why not quit your $9 an hour job at the diner if the restaurant next door is paying $10?

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/04/great-resignation-quitting-us-unemployment-economy