‘Great Resignation’ or Late resignation? 

It’s already Tuesday and you have yet to tick the boxes on your weekend to-do list. Is presenteeism worsening your work-life balance?  

Are you going to ride the ‘Great Resignation’ wave or play the silent cop? 

Either way, in the evening tide you’re better off with your life jacket on than without it. The big question is, How well do you know to fasten your jacket? How informed are you to ride this ‘Great Resignation’ wave? 

Urban Terminology  

First coined by Management professor Anthony Klotz, in simple words,  the term “Great Resignation” would mean mass resignation.  

Klotz predicted the ‘Great Resignation’ sooner than it occurred and believes that the rise of hybrid and remote work helped cause the phenomenon.  

“How we spent our time before the pandemic may not be how we want to spend our time after.”   

Anthony Klotz

In an exclusive interview with Hunter Executive Search, Senior HR and Change Expert, Gillian Harford was quoted saying, “any place by virtue of a screen opens up a whole new set of possibilities.” 

“I think in certain sectors, the pandemic has been devastating. And sadly, some of those sectors are more female-dominated. But on the other side, so many sectors have not been impacted. They have survived and thrived because they have thought about new ways of working.” she added.  

What’s the other side of the story? Why do more employees want to quit their jobs? We spoke with a couple of employees working at top tech giants to let you take a more informed decision. 

Employees at Ericsson, Amazon, and EE limited said that job satisfaction, remote work opportunities, and safety at the workplace were the main factors influencing their career decisions.

The Big W – Why

Not all about the Money  

The pandemic acted as a catalyst for change in ways that changed many people’s career perspectives forever. However, employee safety and digital wellbeing acted as the biggest deciding factors when it came to resignations.  

How employers treated their employees changed the equation of their relationship and led the latter to quit their jobs.   

Matters of interest  

A study by Gallup (2017), entitled State of the Global Workplace, showed that just 15% of employees worldwide are actually engaged in their work. That leaves “a startling 85% of employees performing (at varying levels) beneath their potential.” 

No, it’s not shocking but it is definitely a “war of talent”. Businesses are increasingly finding it difficult to retain talent. More than a third of the employees are actively or casually searching for better opportunities.  

We spoke with Paulo Ortiz*, Senior Software Engineer at Ericsson regarding his resignation last month.  

When asked the question “why are you quitting your  job”, he said, “the job didn’t interest me anymore, it was boring.”  

As soon as he secured an offer from another company, this 26-year-old left his job just in time to welcome his first child.  

He further explained how job satisfaction was more important to him than any other benefits that the company offered.  

Regardless of the uncertainty of relocating to a new place with a newborn on the way, Paulo was all smiles. “It is worth the risk”, he said.

Remote opportunities 

Having reached the second pandemic summer, as vaccine rates are climbing, the future of failing economies finally looks bright.  

Indeed “Every battle is won before it is fought.” The events leading up to the battle decide whether it’s a battle won or a fight for honour.  

As the number of Covid-19 cases is decreasing, some employers have resorted to the hybrid model of working. Employees are now being asked to attend in-person meetings every once in a while.  

However, employees who’ve embraced remote work do not want to ‘return to the office’, which is clashing with the new work models in place.  

While talking about the ‘Great Resignation’, Abhigyan Makkar*, a Finance Analyst at EE Limited told us that he didn’t want the job since day one but took the offer because of the economic crisis during the pandemic.  

“I’m qualified for actually analysing accounts rather than calculating bills. This is not what I wanted to do. Now that businesses are expanding and there are more remote opportunities, I can switch to another company.”  

With very few job opportunities available during the pandemic, most of the employees have been waiting for the right opportunity to resign.  

So, “Is the Great Resignation, greatly exaggerated.” or is it simply a wave of late resignations?  

Caregiving responsibilities  

While the pandemic served as a boon for some it posed difficulties for many. Single parents and mothers who were managing large families found it exceptionally difficult to juggle between their personal and professional lives. 

Research findings from Maynooth University, covering the recent lockdown period, found that in almost two-thirds of families, mothers took full responsibility for homeschooling as compared to families where parental duties were shared. (Irish Examiner) 

Click here for more information on how the covid-19 pandemic affected people in Ireland.  

Level the playfield, the game’s on! 

Whether it’s playing golf, listening to music or being the ‘Wolf of Wallstreet’ several factors contribute to the final outcome.  

Now that you know what is majorly causing the ‘Great Resignation’, take time to look at it with a bird’s eye view.  

Unlike science, things in business can never be black and white, it is an action and output-driven stream where sometimes a natural calamity or something as common as a heatwave can affect the sales and profit of a company. 

Will the ‘Great Resignation’ wave be a boon or bane for your business? This is a predictable phenomenon that depends upon you and your input as a manager/leader.   

How can you use the ‘Great Resignation’ to your advantage? Stay tuned to find out how you can find the right solution to ride this wave before it washes up everything onshore.  

We at Hunter Executive Search believe that there’s always a solution, it’s all about finding the right one. Be it the right candidate or the right solution, we’re only a click away.