The title, although sounding like a historical event of the ’90s, is a current post-pandemic problem affecting businesses all over the . Before diving into the current problem, here are some facts to be noted:
(https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-resignation-aka-pandemic-epiphany-debashish-bhattacharjee/)
Great Resignation, also known as ‘Big Quit’ or ‘The Worker’s Revolution’ is an ongoing trend where employees in full-time jobs are quitting their jobs for various reasons. This trend has resulted in a huge increase in attrition rates. So why exactly has this trend begun and what are the driving forces behind this trend being followed on such a huge scale?
For ages, man has prioritized work in his day-to-day schedule over anything else. Weekdays were majorly allocated for work, while, weekends were allocated for Extra activities. Everyone had a mindset that workdays are to work and weekends are to enjoy. Then came the pandemic which forced everyone to ponder upon what really matters. With life being very uncertain, is it worth waiting for the weekend to enjoy living or is it enjoying each day with a job they love doing? People love flexibility in their jobs and the freedom to choose their own working hours. With the pandemic and the work from home culture in boom, employees got a taste of the same and many are now demanding for the same to continue. Many quit their jobs to start working as a freelancer while many started full-time trading riding the crypto boom.
With the realization of an uncertain life came the doubt of not being on the right career path or feeling exhausted doing the same job for long. Many people changed their careers by upskilling. Research done by amazon found out that 51% of Indian job-seeking adults are interested in pursuing opportunities in industries they do not have experience in. (https://www.aboutamazon.in/news/job-creation-andinvestment/59-of-indian-professionals-actively-looking-for-new-jobs-amazon-job-seeker-insightssurvey) Many people turned their hobbies into jobs while many people took this as an opportunity and started their own start-ups. Around 1.4 million start-ups were registered in the US in 2020
https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/startups-boom-united-states-during-covid-19 and a Nasscom and Zinnov report says India added 1600 start-ups in the tech sector https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/india-added-1-600-tech-start-up-12-unicorns-in-2020-nasscom-report-121010701219_1.html
Work culture is an umbrella under which lies a plethora of issues related to the workplace and work ethics followed in an organization. While working in an organization, an employee seeks things like a sense of belonging, sense of purpose, feeling valued, proper mentorship, good pay, work-life balance, job security, etc. With all these criteria met, an employee finds the place to be desirable for work. Now comes the tricky part, the definition for all the above-mentioned factors for each individual is different. To get a perfect combination of all these factors which suits all the employees is very difficult.
One of the biggest questions looming is how do organizations tide over this challenge?
The solution lies in a hybrid approach: organizations must be flexible, track trends, listen, and be more accommodating to employees while maintaining organizational goals. Companies must recognize that each individual has unique needs that must be met in a unique way. They must delve deeply into their employees' minds to determine exactly what they require. Companies require employee diversity, not just by race or gender, but also by the type of employee and their needs.
Organizations need to become progressive and innovative to accommodate employee satisfaction, culture, growth / progress for employees in this changing landscape What should be done to retain talent?
