Don’t Be Resigned to the Great Resignation — How to Hire Now

Where were you when the term “Great Resignation” first landed? 

It didn’t arrive with COVID-19, another benchmark we may wish we had never heard of. While the Great Resignation became mainstream in the past year, the idea is not as new to the hiring world as you might think. In fact, I first heard of it in 2019, as a concept framed by Mays Business School (at Texas A&M University) professor Anthony Klotz. 

He predicted that the workforce could face a tsunami of voluntary quits spurred by a flourishing labor market in which employees had far more agency over their employers than ever before. Another term for it might be “a buyer’s market,” which puts even more pressure on employers to find ways to appeal to candidates, such as touting their beautiful offices or great work culture. 

Klotz, an expert on resignations, did not anticipate how quickly his prediction would come true. However, since the start of the pandemic, he has tracked how COVID-19 accelerated resignations, hastened by an intense level of burnout, safety fears, increasing options to work remotely and, for some, untenable working situations.

One of the most notable reasons for the trend seems to be the sudden realization that our identities are no longer defined by where we work. And whether you call it the Big Quit, the Great Realization or, perhaps most accurately, the Great Reassessment, the driving sentiment remains the same: employees are realizing that what they want from their jobs may be something entirely new. 

The pressing challenge for employers now is how to hire and retain their workforce — and it doesn’t look like this challenge is going to go away quickly.

Is the Great Resignation the next normal?

The Great Resignation gained momentum across the US in 2021, with almost 48 million people quitting their jobs. November 2021 saw a historic high of 4.5 million workers quitting or changing jobs, with previous record highs in April, August and September of 2021. And this trend seems to remain strong in 2022, with nearly 4.4 million people quitting their jobs in February of this year.  

While we noticed this trend among some younger workers a few years back, this is different: this is a massive talent drain, and not just of junior hires — it’s across the board. According to Indeed’s data, a startling 70% of employers have observed a recent uptick in resignations at their workplaces, and 72% are “more concerned” with resignations than usual.  

But if there’s a silver lining in this era of workplace turbulence, it’s that leaders and decision-makers are learning the importance of retaining their employees sooner instead of just reacting to a fait accompli. 

The pandemic transformed our attitudes toward work 

Klotz talked about the social power of the workplace to draw us in and involve us in its world. But the conditions of working in the pandemic usurped that sense of cohesion for something else: fears around safety and a preference for being at home — whether for our own sake, for our loved ones or to support our children struggling through remote school — further bolstered by the revelation that in certain sectors, we really can do our jobs from anywhere. 

While much is still unknown about how or when this phenomenon may end, it’s clear that the pandemic continues to affect labor market momentum. Addressing these new attitudes — and reimagining our workplaces in this new light — will be critical to combating the negative effects of the Great Resignation.

The frustration is real on all levels: many of the same pressures employees feel are shared by leaders, managers and even TA professionals. Indeed’s report indicates just how tangible the impact on leadership is, with only 39% of the respondents surveyed saying they are not or have not considered resigning.

What I’m sensing is that many decision makers are realizing how ill-equipped they are to face this reality. They have great tools, powerful platforms, AI, automation, velocity and personalization, but this array of innovations can’t stem the tide of resignations or increase hiring success right now. 

Addressing the right problems — from the top down

Not every manager who contemplates resigning is going to do it — and that’s an important topic for future study. But if you subscribe to the theory that a workplace culture depends on its leadership to set the tone, then we’ve got some serious triage to do. In fact, 86% of Indeed’s surveyed respondents believe employers need to take action now to reduce further churn. The question is where to start. 

The first thing I’d do as a leader is tend to your managers. We’ve seen rising stress in managers since before the pandemic, but research from McKinsey finds they are now showing signs of PTSD and lower resilience. 

Given that managers are largely responsible for employee experience, this is a critical first. Gartner reports that 37% of HR leaders don’t believe their managers are equipped to lead change and 66% of their teams do not trust them or the leadership to navigate change or crisis. 

These are gaps that have to be addressed. So provide managers with the flexibility and tools they need. Provide them with the power to spot potential early exits, and create a far more robust talent pool so they can fill the gaps as soon as possible. 

Prioritize real solutions, not Band-aids

Indeed’s report found that employers have differing opinions on possible solutions. Employers believe workers’ top priorities are higher pay (59%), schedule flexibility (58%), better work-life balance (56%), remote work options (54%) and the ability to focus on personal and family responsibilities (50%). Employers are also taking action by offering either full- or part-time remote options (52%), flexible schedules (50%) and bonuses (46%). 

Yet what’s missing from this? It may be what was missing even before the pandemic. Among the many ironies we’re facing now in the world of work is a sense of chickens coming home to roost. 

We need to transcend the issue of work-life balance because, as the pandemic has proven, there is no balance — only the endless need to integrate one with the other. As such, we need to build better ways of working that take into account employees’ needs for safety and well-being. 

As for creating work cultures where people feel they can be safe, grow and thrive, that won’t happen until we fully embrace the power of digital tools, such as all-in-one integrated solutions like Indeed Hiring Events and others designed for flexibility in a virtual-first environment. Only then can we begin to refine our work lives within that ecosphere. 

We may not have aced Work 4.0 as we wanted. But now we have a chance to do it with Work 5.0. Get these solutions right, and we should have all the talent we need.