Currently we’re hearing about the “Great Resignation of 2021,” and many are asking if this is really an issue. Here are a few reasons that this headline is true:
–Remote workers are having to return to the workplace despite being highly productive from home. From lack of stress in a daily commute to infrastructure already existing to work from home, pushing people back into the office will ensure more worker flight. In some cases, this is about company control, in other cases, they’re wanting to get back to a “perceived” normal. However, there’s no reason to bring back valuable employees who maintain or exceed the productivity they had in the office if they don’t want to come back. From a mere safety perspective, since it is about 50/50 in recent polls of those wanting to continue to work from home and those wanting back in the office, let’s use that to our advantage in social distancing and let the people doing excellent work from home, stay there.
–Hybrid work is unacceptable for many who desire to return to work full time or want to continue working from home. The hybrid environment will create chaos and detachment, as desks will be up for grabs, schedules will be confused, and employees won’t feel settled. It reinforces companies thinking of employees as numbers and resources, not humans.
–Lack of flexible work environment for working parents and those in the sandwich generation taking care of children and elderly parents simultaneously.
–Higher compensation. Whether a victim of reduced employee pay, or limited or eliminated raises and bonuses, many are seeking greener pastures.
–Wanting more training and development or promotion opportunities.
–Forced vaccinations (not about whether you agree or disagree, just a reason people are leaving).
–Workers who have built up a financial cushion that allows them to quit their current job while they look for new work.
–Lack of work-life balance, bad bosses, too much overtime, monotonous work, or wanting a career change. People are realizing there is more to life than working for a company or boss that does not appreciate you, or in a job that they don’t enjoy.
–An explosion of new jobs being advertised, from high tech to service jobs. With positions aplenty, it’s a good time to move.
Lastly, there are intangible factors of working from home many companies don’t realize exist. For instance, working with your spouse or significant other (yes, many couples love working together), seeing children, parents or pets throughout the day, walking away from your desk for a couple of minutes for a personal call and not feeling guilty, or the comfort of being in a “safe” place.
If the worker doesn’t need to be there and you are forcing them back, or you show lack of appreciation for their work, you will lose them. Think twice Corporate America about how you treat employees, don’t assume you do a great job, or you just might find your workforce gone.
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Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.