The global pandemic forced companies to rethink employment policies on the fly, finding new ways to keep employees productive, engaged and, most of all, safe. The result was a massive rate of change compressed into an extremely short period of time. Such major changes were bound to have unpredictable effects on every aspect of business, and indeed, that is exactly what has happened.
Far Reaching Changes
Following traditional wisdom led to economic problems. Supply chains, long tuned to reduce costs and inventories, collapsed with stunning speed, and manufacturers realized that supply chain resiliency is a more important criteria than achieving the lowest possible costs.
Companies that can afford to do so have raised pay rates above minimum requirements. Retail and hospitality companies have moved away from traditional pay structures based on low hourly rates or rates supplemented by tips to a more reliable wage structure.
Entire economies were upended. For example, China reverted to its traditional position as the second largest economy in the world, after briefly holding the top spot.
Employees and consumers adopted new technologies with unexpected speed—consider the Zoom Boom as an example.
Many Employees Love their Newfound Freedoms
Against this backdrop of economic and social turmoil, many employees found that they enjoyed the freedom to work from home. The new-found autonomy inherent in remote work changed the way employees relate to management, customers, each other and their jobs.
Some employees found better ways to balance work and personal lives by working remotely, while others found it impossible to draw the line between their business and personal lives. They have continued health concerns as the pandemic continues and vaccination status and mask wearing have become political issues rather than simple health measures.
In any case, their relationships with their jobs changed and employees are now loath to return to the rigid schedules and high pressure routines of the past. They’re ready to make changes. Big changes.
The Great Resignation—By the Numbers
High numbers of employees have decided to seek new employment as the world reopens. According to the US Government Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 4 million American workers quit their jobs in July 2021. Employers are scrambling to attract and retain key employees, but the traditional incentives for attracting top talent may no longer be enough to ensure a steady stream of highly qualified candidates.
According to the same BLS report, hires in durable goods manufacturing were down by 41,000, but this statistic doesn’t accurately reflect demand for workers. Many manufacturing companies are desperately seeking new hires with the necessary skills to function in today’s complex, technology-driven factories.
Companies that held off on hiring during the pandemic are now in hiring overdrive, and they are forced to offer pay and benefits concessions to attract employees who see new opportunities around every corner.
The Skills Gap Complicates the Picture
While many manufacturing jobs lack the flexibility to work from home, skilled people in the field do have transferable skills and experiences. They are leaving the industry or switching employers at a high rate. The current business climate has created a perfect storm for employers, and the skills gap has simply added to the pressure for the manufacturing industry.
The shortage of skills is expected to cost US industries $435.7 billion, the UK $90 billion, Germany $136.9 billion, Mexico $9.0 billion, and China $147 billion. India is the only country expected to have a surplus of skilled labor by 2030.
The UK predicts economic losses of £120 billion, and they report 17.4 million high-skilled jobs available, but only 14.8 million high-skilled workers. Yet workers with lower level skills have not taken advantage of skills upgrade opportunities. Only 24% of eligible UK workers enrolled in subsidized reskilling or upskilling programs over the past two years. Yet 6 million people in England are at risk of being jobless or in roles they are overqualified for by 2030. This is due to many of them not having the skills for higher skilled work, and there will be too many unskilled or lesser skilled workers chasing the available lower skilled jobs.
The number of people opting to change jobs is expected to grow, and the higher rates are consistent across industries and geographic regions. According to The Achievers Institute, only 33% of employees intend to remain in their current positions and are actively looking for a new role, and 64% report thinking about leaving their job. Worse, 77% of employees who have been at their current job for less than a year say they are open to taking a different job, and 44% are actively looking.
Blaming Burnout
The major reason cited for this phenomenon is burnout. Among Gen Z, 94% say they have searched for a new job because of burnout, and Millennials are not far behind at 88%. Employees who are burnt out are three times more likely to quit, costing US companies about $300 billion in absenteeism, and reduced productivity in addition to turnover. Older employees—those between 55 and 64—remain in their jobs more than three times longer than younger employees.
The worst part of the high rate of dissatisfied employees is not the employees themselves, it’s that burnt out employees are more than twice as likely to convince coworkers to resign along with them. Over one third of employees say another employee has encouraged them to quit their jobs together.
Employee turnover cost US industries more than $630 billion in 2020, with each resignation costing the company about a third of the employee’s annual salary.
The research shows that employee restlessness is an expensive problem, and it’s not one with an easy solution. But it’s a two pronged problem. And both sides may need to work to find middle ground.
There is Hope
For their part, employers may need to become more flexible with their work-from-home policies, mandatory retirement age, job sharing and other perks that are highly-prized by employees. They may need to provide upskilling and reskilling training, and they may have to assume a greater part of the cost to tempt employees to enroll. Most of all, they need to recognize that employees value companies where they respect and admire the leadership, and they need to ensure that managers are trained in the soft skills so necessary to employee satisfaction.
Employees may have to temper their expectations around remote work and high salaries based on living in high-cost areas if they no longer live in those areas. They will be faced with tough decisions about staying with a company they know and the quality of the relationships they have formed there in comparison to the shiny unknown bauble of a new job at a new company.
The Great Resignation has enormous social and economic impacts on both employees and employers. In the next part of this series, we will look at ways employers can retain valued employees and ensure the employees they hire can function at the necessary performance levels. The third segment will look at the issue from the employee’s point of view, including the factors they should evaluate before changing jobs and manage their work life expectations and priorities.
