The wave of resignations that began last year and have only dropped modestly in Q1 of 2022 remains the crux of difficult days and sleepless nights for business leaders across all industries.[1] In too many cases, the employee exodus has crippled operations, forcing companies to turn away clients and damaging relationships with long-time partners.
The idea of the Great Resignation—or the Big Quit, as it’s also called—implies that for millions of workers, the disruptions and upheavals of the Covid-19 pandemic provided a long-awaited reason to pack up and head out to find better employment somewhere else.
But that’s the problem: Workers didn’t just decamp to new jobs for higher wages and better benefit packages, much to the chagrin of thousands of employers.
If It’s Not About the Money, What Is It Exactly?
The answer appeared in the very article that used the phrase “Great Resignation” for the first time, and got lost in the media noise that followed. As the Boston Globe brilliantly mused on the subject last summer: “Lots of people were having revelations about how they wanted to spend their time moving forward.”[2] The simplest answer, once again, proves the correct one.
Time. The primary cause of the entire workforce migration problem.
Why was time a primary factor and a catalyst for change last year? Time is a fundamental aspect of all employment relationships. Employees are capital assets with the unique ability to appreciate in value over time (and they are the only business asset that can innately do so). The flip side of this ability to appreciate in value over time is that employees have a finite lifespan themselves, with careers lasting on average no more than fifty years (with opportunities during the course of that career changing and, in many cases, diminishing over time.)
While the Covid-19 pandemic created disruption, uncertainty, and isolation for workers from their respective places of business, it also gave them time to examine their place in life and how they wanted to spend their time. For many employees, work — at least the way they’ve been managing it — isn’t part of their revised thinking. Particularly when they are making this assessment in the context of their own mortality.
For many workers, these revelations led to a reassessment of personal value and, more importantly, a desire to have this new appreciation of self-worth reflected in their career trajectory.
Managing the Great Reevaluation
Employers must take stock post-pandemic of this seismic shift in value judgment by the workforce. Indeed, it is high time for management to bring their expectations into realignment with those of their employees through new strategies. Listed below are just a few examples of time-oriented initiatives that can be managed through appropriate policy guidance from leadership and implemented through human resources.
▪ Eyes on the Prize: The uncertainties of the last two years have made us more reluctant than ever to waste time on trivial or pointless tasks. Make sure employees see how their work contributes not just to the company’s bottom line but to its larger mission. Connect the dots and link their success to the larger success of the organization.
▪ Us Time, Not Me Time: One thing the pandemic showed us is that some work can be handled just as effectively at 9 pm as at 9 am. Whether working from home or in the office, employees are seeking more control over worktime and personal time. Understanding how workers want to spend their time and creating collaborative flex programs will lead to more productive and more effective utilization of time.
▪ Self Driving: Nothing defines the human condition better than the quest for self-determination.[3] Jobs that offer low autonomy feel infantilizing and demoralizing rather than meaningful. Case in point: According to the New York Times last June, Amazon fulfillment centers generally see a turnover rate of around 150% a year.[4] Create opportunities for employees to decide how to do their work.[5]
▪ Own It: Treat workers as professionals by encouraging independent problem-solving. Instead of telling employees how to do a task, explain your objectives and let them figure out the best way to get there. Taking ownership of a project gives workers a sense of purpose and a connection to the larger mission.[6]
The Great Reevaluation may be a rude awakening for employers, but properly managed, will lead to a stronger, more committed workforce acting on their behalf.
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Howard Matalon, our Employment Practices Partner, provides practical and impactful legal and human capital guidance to better manage and protect the value of your most important capital asset: the workforce that makes your business run. Howard’s email address is .
[Photo by Kevin Ku on Unsplash][1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/08/where-workers-quitting-jobs/
[2] https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/22/business/burnout-is-one-key-predictors-turnover-what-know-about-great-resignation/
[3] https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-determination-theory-2795387
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/15/us/politics/amazon-warehouse-workers.html
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/stanphelps/2019/09/24/if-you-love-your-employees-set-them-free-autonomy-is-key-to-employee-engagement/?sh=5e5bfdf868e6
[6] https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0024518
