‘The Great Resignation’ ~ Why are they leaving?
Employees are not looking for a ‘new normal’ – they want a ‘new possible’.
These are pivotal times in the workplace ~ globally and locally. It appears the pandemic has opened Pandora’s box to reveal a plethora of new workplace challenges for both companies and employees.
This is most evident in the exodus of employees from companies, in what has been dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’.
More than 15 million US workers—and counting—have quit their jobs in the last six months, a record-breaking number which is disrupting businesses everywhere. This trend is not only poised to continue, but is likely to accelerate.
According to research from McKinsey & Co*, an astounding 40% of employees in their survey said they are at least somewhat likely to quit in the next three to six months. 18% percent said their intentions to quit range from likely to almost certain.
These findings held across all five countries that were surveyed—Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Great Resignation is upon us. So what’s driving it?
The core issue
There are several reasons behind employees’ desire to quit, but what’s fundamental to them all is a lack of meaning and purpose which lie at the heart of the issues for both employers and employees.
Now, more than ever, both need to be engaged in a process of clarifying and defining their ‘why’. Why do they exist? What is their bigger reason for doing what they do? How do they want to add value and contribute to the world?
Many companies are defining their ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance—issues and concerns, and developing meaningful responses.
Some organizations are going further and conceptualizing their ‘why’, their reason for being, as fulfilling social purpose. They are operationalizing what they do to help solve social challenges that provide a positive impact on all their stakeholders, not just shareholders.
But in the wake of Covid, companies also need to pay more attention to the real needs of their workers, if they want any chance of retaining them. They need to understand their employee’s experience at work and help make them be more purposeful, meaningful, and even joyful.
What really matters?
In a similar vein, employees are also reevaluating their relationship to work and with whom they work. This is also about understanding their bigger ‘why’. Why am I here? What do I stand for? What difference do I want to make? They want their work to be meaningful and have a greater purpose beyond a paycheck.
Unexpectedly, for both employers and employees, the pandemic has forced a re-think about what really matters.
In these turbulent times and with increasing awareness of the world’s wicked problems, both are concerned about the future, not just their personal and organization’s futures, but their communities, countries and the planet’s.
There is a growing collective desire to contribute to the greater good, a more just world, and a world where existential threats like climate change are no longer top of mind.
The need for dialogue
Matching this ‘double why’ of the employer and employee means the two have to face each other authentically in the arena of meaning and purpose.
A real dialogue, not monologue, needs to happen. A one-on-one conversation where employers learn more about the employee, including their hopes and fears, what they value in life, and what difference they want to make. A two-way exchange where the employer and employee clarify each other’s larger purpose and their respective supporting roles, building a trusted relationship and a clear way forward. These conversations not only reveal potential barriers to engagement, but also that the employer really cares about their employees - the cornerstone of meaning and purpose at work.
The challenge for both sides
This expanded sense of concern for retaining and attracting the best kind of employee, and the employee’s search for meaningful work, has propelled meaning and purpose to the forefront of the conversation on both sides.
While companies have been grappling with these bigger ‘why’ questions for quite some time with sustainability, triple bottom line, CSR, GRI, ESG and social purpose language and frameworks being popularized, for many employees figuring out their why has not been so obvious or straightforward.
While employees might not be using those precise terms—meaning and purpose—they are certainly looking to their worklife for a greater sense of wellbeing, connection, significance, fulfillment, and contribution.
All this comes down to one overriding concern that many employees have identified—they want their work to be meaningful and have a greater purpose than just monetary gain.
Employees intuitively understand social good, support diversity, equity, and inclusion, and are concerned about where they and the world are headed.
If employers understand these concerns more fully, they can relate to their employees on a more personal basis and create the conditions needed to attract and retain employees who are highly motivated and committed to the organization.
A transformation to better work
According to McKinsey & Co. research, recognizing the need to get the employer-employee purpose more closely aligned, so the two can mutually support each other, is the next big step for successful firms.
If they get this right, not only do those companies become a better place to work, but they can also tap the enormous potential of a purposeful workforce aligned with a purpose-driven organization.
Empowering this transformation of the workplace—getting both employer and employee to pursue a fuller sense of meaning and purpose at work—is a sure fire way to help stem the tide of the Great Resignation.
And of course, help create a better world along the way.
~ Charlie James, CEO & Co-Founder, Greater Meaning
* This article cites research from McKinsey & Co. For additional information, visit: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights
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