Take the end of the restrictions imposed by a horrific pandemic, enjoy the explosion of pent-up consumer demand, add the continuing complexities in manufacturing countries still lumbering from pandemic issues, mix in the over-demand on shipping companies… and blend rapidly with a profound shortage of workers at every level. Ah, yes, 2021/22 was the time of employee arrogance and the notion of higher pay around the corner: the “grass is greener” syndrome. What you get is millions of workers, heavily within the Gen Z constituency, deciding to quit their old jobs for the “new, better, next.”
Journalist Jared Lindzon, who specializes in the tech workforce and entrepreneurism, writing for the February 13th FastCompany.com, drills down on the impact of this “Great Resignation” and those who left purportedly for a better life and a higher paying job: “According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, more than four million Americans, or about 2.7% of the workforce, called it quits in December of 2022, on par with the elevated resignation rates seen since mid-2021”
Somehow, many of these workers seem have missed the massive “Great Tech Layoffs” looming in 2022 and accelerating into 2023. They may have underestimated the drop in global demand from the financial pressures from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting inflationary surge. And, well, the “grass” wasn’t always greener “over there” anyway. “Recent studies suggest that many of those who took part in the Great Resignation that began in 2021 (and remains ongoing) are unsatisfied in their new roles, and some are even trying to get their old jobs back…
“A survey of 825 employees conducted by HR and payroll solutions provider Paychex in October and released in January found that 80% of those who quit regret their decision, including 89% of Gen Z respondents. Among those with regrets, 78% admit to wanting their old job back, with 68% actively attempting to return to their previous employer.
“‘We were at 47 million job changers in that ‘Great Resignation window,’ as we define it, so there were bound to be some unmet expectations,’ says Paychex’s vice president of enterprise and HR solutions, Jeff Williams. ‘As people saw their friends changing [jobs] and the media picked up the story, there was this rush to change that felt more like running from something that running to something,’.. The survey also found that professionals who changed industries were 25% more likely to regret their decision, and white-collar workers were 15% more likely to have regrets.
“The thing job hoppers missed most about their former place of employment—especially female respondents—was their coworkers, followed by salary, bonuses, and health insurance. Recognition and flexibility-related perks, however, ranked near the bottom of the list, suggesting that workers may have switched jobs in pursuit of greater flexibility, but didn’t put enough emphasis on other factors.
“Williams also speculates that inflation could be to blame, as the higher compensation levels promised by new employers likely didn’t result in as much of a lifestyle upgrade as many had hoped.
“Other data suggests that the proportion of ‘Great Regretters,’ may be significantly smaller, but their reasons for having regrets remains consistent. Joblist’s 2023 Job Market Trends Report found that only 22% of its 3,253 respondents—all of whom are U.S.-based job seekers who quit their jobs in 2022—have regrets.
“Their concerns, however, were also largely economic-based, as nearly half of those who regret the decision say it was harder to find a new job than they had anticipated, and another 13% regret quitting specifically because the economy worsened. The least popular responses were also related to flexibility, with only 7% saying that their new job resulted in a decline of work-life balance… ‘Changing economic conditions are a major driver of quitters’ remorse right now,’ says Joblist CEO Kevin Harrington, who adds that ‘personal and social reasons are also common.’
“For example, 20% of respondents say their new job wasn’t what they had hoped it would be, 14% miss their old colleagues, and 13% feel they may have taken their former employer for granted. Each factor, says Harrington, should be carefully considered by the 67% of respondents who are currently employed and seeking a new role—especially the 34% who say they would be comfortable leaving their current jobs without a new one lined up.”
Aside from leaving familiar grounds and coworkers, younger workers often undervalue the fringe benefits of a job, from medical to pension values. Often they disregard the worth of seniority, something that undoubtedly took down a number of resigners as they moved into the tech sector. The tech company layoffs were among major sectors of cost saving due to an anticipated creeping recession. And while unemployment rates have not been lower in decades, and the recession may be avoidable at least in the U.S., the regrets are a severe lesson to the younger members of the workforce, never exposed to the necessary business cycles that determine our earnings fate.
“Gen Z students are feeling unprepared for the workforce, according to a new study from Dell Technologies.” FastCompany.com, February 14th. And yes, Dell was one of the tech companies that laid off a lot of workers.
I’m Peter Dekom, and all you have to do is look around you or at the headlines to realize that continuing and severe instability just may be the defining reality of the 21st century.
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