Overview
HR Conclave 2.0
Talent Acquisition and Retention in the Age of Great Resignation
There are lots of reasons why so many workers have sought new jobs, in a trend that economists have called the ‘Great Resignation’. For some people, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a shift in priorities, spurring them to pursue a ‘dream job’, or to become stay-at-home parents. Many are in search of better work opportunities, working condition, higher pay, or even the prospects of self-employment. Some skilled and knowledge workers are quitting due to burnout. For others, the decision to resign was a response to how their employer treated them during the pandemic.
The pandemic has had significant repercussions on our work life. Globally, people have used the pandemic as a phase to reflect and make decisions that changed and put them into a new phase of life. We saw a huge number of employees quitting their jobs. According to a study conducted by McKinsey, between April and September 2021, more than 19 million workers resigned in the US market alone. In November 2021, 4.5 million people left their roles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rate of those voluntarily quitting, as opposed to being laid off or fired, reached a record high in November 2021and this was no different in India.
The Great Resignation is the apparent desire of an employee to make changes to their world of work. The changes brought about by the pandemic have caused many to reflect upon either what they do or who they are doing it with, Some are changing careers, while others are changing employer because of the way in which they have been managed or treated over the past 20 or so months. It is not just a phenomenon among the young, but is evident through all tiers and categories of the workforce.
Let us deliberate this season about how we engage the talent to retain and eliminate resignation post pandemic. Also thrown light on legitimacy of moonlighting.
