Every week it feels like there’s a new buzzword or phrase being thrown around, and today we’ve stumbled across a new one, ‘The Great Resignation’. After a bit of research, we can confirm it’s not the act of performing an all-singing, all-dancing, stage-production-worthy act of handing your notice into your boss and filming it for TikTok. That would be cool though, right?
No, it’s actually a phenomenon that started in 2021 that is set to carry on well into 2022. The Great Resignation refers to employees quitting their jobs en mass since the onset of the pandemic. After almost two years of lockdowns, furlough, anxiety, and depression, this huge cultural shift is thought to be driven by people deciding that life is simply too short to stay in a job that makes them unhappy.
A study by Business Leader has shown that 35% of workers don’t intend to stay in their current job role in 2022, and this is across all employee groups.
So what does this mean for job seekers?
For the most part, it means that employers are upping their game. Partly to keep their current workforce from wanting to leave, and partly to entice new potential employees to work for them. Companies are now keen to offer the perks that will see employees commit to staying long-term, including increased benefits and compensation. It also means that hybrid working and flexibility are here to stay, which is great news for us all.