The Great Resignation – Why People Are Quitting Perfectly Good Jobs

Why are so many people quitting their jobs?

4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August! Why are so many people quitting their jobs?

Let that sink in a minute. That’s about 2.9% of the workforce according to CNN. But wait, 2.7% also quit in July. What the heck is going on?

Who would have expected so many people would be quitting their jobs? Why now? This all sounds crazy until you pick it apart.

So, do you know anyone who’s called it quits?

Let me ask you the fifty-thousand-dollar question—Are you thinking about joining them? Have you already quit?

If not, don’t leap just yet!

I’ll bet you at least know someone who was maybe five years out from retirement, give or take, who went ahead and pulled the plug. That’s an easy one to wrap your head around.

It’s also easy enough to blame the pandemic, but is that really it? Well, yes… on the surface it does sort of look that way. 

For any one individual, quitting a job or making a career change following a major life event wouldn’t be seen as unusual. With COVID, we all experienced a soul-shocking event together.

Every part of our daily lives became unhinged for quite a long stretch.

We’ve had so much time on our hands for self-reflection, who wouldn’t start to ponder the options? —Hey, self-reflection may even be a new national pastime!

“Between [record numbers of job openings], the widespread self-reflection, and increased ability to work from anywhere, it’s a ‘perfect storm…’”– Brooks Holtom, professor of management and senior associate dean at Georgetown University

Dean Holtom hits on the part the pandemic has played the I’m quitting equation. Although, there’s more of the ol’ iceberg than the eye can see.

Fortune.com reports that “nearly two-thirds of US workers are looking for a new job.” WOW! Can that be true?

We could easily make a big, long list of the reasons why people are quitting, but that’s not the point. 

The Great Resignation suggests a major shift is happening.

And I’d say it’s about time.

What’s the big shift, you ask?

The shift is in our mindset toward our work and our careers.

For decades, we’ve lived in a “That’s the job, that’s why we call it work… Now get back to WORK” kind of world.

Plus, there’s the everlasting challenge to, “Do more with less. Then do a little more with a little less.” Has that tired old, worn-out mantra finally met its match?

Some years ago, after a messy re-org and the resulting train wreck of a work culture, my boss’s lieutenant told me straight up, “we know you won’t leave; nobody leaves in this environment.”

I took my ball and went home leaving my big corporate job in a small trail of dust.

Then I set out to plot a new course. That was my ‘I’ve had enough’ moment.

That mindset was relatively common in big corporate settings since the financial meltdown in 2008. That mindset was on top of employers acting like they called all the shots and workers should be happy to have a job.

You’ve gotta love this headline from The Washington Post…

‘Micromanaged and disrespected’: Top reasons workers are quitting their jobs in ‘The Great Resignation’”

That alone sums up much of the “Why?”

Maybe it’s time for employers to rethink a thing or two? I believe this mass resignation movement might suggest rethinking is no longer an option.

Well, you know what they say…

Turnabout is fair play. The pendulum has swung.

COVID woke a lot of people up.

• It got us asking questions about what might be possible.
• We started thinking about what matters most.
• It changed our relationship with our mortality.

And it got us thinking that if we’re giving that much of our hearts and souls at work… there should be a little more in return. 

If the past eighteen or twenty months have left you thinking about other possibilities, you’re not alone.

So, are you thinking about it? What should you do before you leap…

If you do your Googly research (oh, sorry Google), you’ll find about as many steps to take as there are reasons why people are walking out on careers.

Here’s where I would suggest you begin.

Start by searching on keywords like, before I quit my job, what should I do before I quit my job, do’s and don’ts before quitting any job, quitting your job during covid… Those will get you started.

Wait! Don’t resign yet — You should have a plan!

Most of us resist making a plan thinking we can take things as they come. Don’t do that, a well thought out plan makes all the difference.

• Do your research,
• Evaluate your options,
• Develop you plan,
• Make sure your finances are in order, then…

Once you decide it’s time, once you decide to go, there’s one final detail…

I’ve called on Gibb’s Rules before. Whatever you decide, and whenever you decide to do it. Here goes…

Rule 91 – When you decide to walk away, don’t look back.”

—Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS

Look for more to come on The Great Resignation on LifeUntucked®.

Be untucked.

Do you know someone who’s thinking about a change… would you share this post with them? It might be helpful. Thanks!

Copyright © 2021 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved