During the pandemic millions of Americans quit their jobs, causing a term UCL School of Management Associate Professor, Anthony Klotz termed ‘The Great Resignation’. Speaking to Made for Minds, Anthony shares his thoughts on the pace and future of the great resignation movement.
The COVID pandemic made people reevaluate their life goals, which caused many to resign, but whilst many think this caused a seismic gap in the workforce, Anthony Klotz explains this is a misconception and most left to pursue other careers and higher salaries.
This surge in resignations has caused a shortage of talent and given workers the upper hand in negotiations, not just financially but many are also demanding more flexible working. But are workers now facing a turning tide yet again? As the US economy slows and inflation soars globally, many companies, including the big tech giants are announcing layoffs, causing a dramatic drop in vacancies.
While the rate of resignations is still high, it has plateaued, which Anthony suggests may not be purely just because of fear of the current economic climate but because companies have now learned to accommodate worker’s needs and have redesigned their practices and policies to accommodate the ‘new normal’.
He said, “A number of organisations say the silver lining of the pandemic is that it gave us an opportunity to reinvent work, through remote working, alternative schedules and so on.”
The global economy has also impacted the state of resignations, and Anthony argues that while the pace of resignations is slowing down, as long as inflation remains elevated workers will always keep an ear to the ground to see if there is a similar role with more pay to survive the turning tides, so inflation may actually contribute to higher resignations.
