The reasons people cite for leaving jobs have shifted to pandemic-burnout and existential epiphanies
We are living through the great attritionix, with people leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers. As many as 4 million Americans changed jobs in 2021 and 1 million in the UK. And while resignations started to hit high records in 2019x, the reasons people cite for leaving have shifted from compensation and work-life balance to pandemic-burnout and existential epiphaniesxi. People are looking for more meaningful work, and they are not only scrutinising the ESG and DEI policies of a company before applying, but also expecting their employer to
support the causes they believe in outside of work. A survey conducted by our strategy and insights team found that nearly a third want to see more sustainability initiatives in the workplace – and over a quarter also want support from their employers to take part in sustainability initiatives outside of work. As employers we are expected to have processes and policies in place for when a new variant becomes routine and blended working a seamless norm – but beyond that we will also need to create more meaningful working environments and embrace the causes our people believe in.
ix https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/the-great-attrition-wanting-the-best-keeping-the-worst x https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/quits-rate-of-2-9-percent-in-august-2021-an-all-time-high.htm xi https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation