The Truth About The Great Resignation

What Does the Great Resignation Really Mean?

If you have not already noticed that more people are leaving their jobs than usual, you likely will soon. In April alone over 4 million workers got up and quit. Now there a number of factors this can be attributed to, most of them stemming from Covid related reasons. It may be that some people are realizing in this pandemic that their life is more finite than they so they would rather pursue what is really important to them or it may just be that people are looking to change after so much time in lockdown.

Microsoft recently released its annual work trend study where they surveyed over 160,000 employees from countries all over the world to find out exactly what they think about their jobs, workplace, and leadership. Now this study had some interesting findings. According to this study nearly 40% of all workers are currently considering quitting their job. This statistic may sound freighting, markedly so. If 40% of the workforce was to up and leave their jobs tomorrow there would be some serious repercussions for business owners and employees alike. So why should you not be worried?

Why you Shouldn’t be Too Worried

40% of people quitting their jobs is unrealistic and here is why. This statistic was derived from an anonymous survey which only asked, “would you consider leaving your job in the next 12 months”. A lot can change in a year whether it be in respect to relationships, finance, or health. All these somewhat unpredictable factors can severely influence someone’s decision to leave a job in the next 12 months. Knowing what the statistic is based on makes it seem a lot more realistic that 40% of people selected yes. News media outlets have largely sensationalized this number, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be worry free.

Compared to last year or even the year before the 4 million people resigning in a single month isn’t too surprising. What is surprising is that this number is almost double what it was a decade ago despite the total amount of employed people largely remaining the same. The game has changed. Employees are leaving their jobs to find either more accommodating or better paying jobs elsewhere. Retaining top talent is harder than ever and employees have accepted that loyalty is not valued highly in the current market. This means that businesses now more than ever need to focus on retaining their top employees to stay competitive.

Studies from Harvard Business Review indicate that when promotions are managed effectively employee turnover rates are cut in half compared to others in the same industry. Other metrics from productivity to innovation also see significant improvement when promotions are handled properly in a company. It’s clear that showing your employees that are valued matters. Employees value equity and integrity from their employer’s. Employees now more than ever are prepared to leave their jobs if they don’t find that is the case. All that means is even higher expenses for businesses trying to make up for lost talent.

What Businesses can Do to Protect Themselves

The answer to this question is fairly simple. Companies need to treat their employees better. It might provide a slightly higher upfront cost but taking these precautions could save multiple times the amount invested due to lower turnover and higher productivity. Providing employees with a more flexible work life balance combined with higher pay will earn their respect making them even more loyal to your business. Big companies like Goldman Sachs are already taking steps in this direction by providing pay increases along with attempts to reduce hours worked by employees. Industry leaders are setting the pace. It’s time to act before being left behind.

If you are concerned about protecting your turnover ratios and retaining your employees, implementing benefit plans, pto, sick leave, and other perks are enormous factors in an employees decision to stay. These kinds of benefits can be tricky to add into your company’s structure costing you tons of time and money. AllianceHR can make that transition easy and affordable for your business. Our co employment model lets us take on all of the HR administration for your employees from payroll to managing unemployment claims to hosting your worker’s comp policy. Alliance will make sure your business is airtight when it comes to HR. Contact us today to see how AllianceHR can help your business thrive.