The “Great Resignation” is having a massive effect on the United States workforce according to a study by Gallup analytics firm. Employees are quitting their jobs at a high rate due to feeling less commitment to their companies since the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has left its mark on the workplace, and employees around the world are disengaging from their jobs.
According to a study by Gallup, an analytics and consultancy firm, the rate of worker engagement worldwide is down to 20 per cent. “Globally, employee engagement decreased by 2 percentage points from 2019 to 2020, and employees reported higher worry, stress, anger and sadness in 2020 than they had in the previous year,” notes the study. This level of disengagement is leading to a sharp rise in resignations in the United States in 2021.
Less involved and integrated, finding themselves in “disengaged” teams, the number of US employees who resigned in April 2021 were 4 million according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. The highest rate since the Bureau of Labour Statistics began? Indeed, according to several American media outlets specialised in labour and the workforce. So much so that “many are calling it ‘the great resignation,’” writes Gallup.
Is the workplace at the root of the issue?
In 2020, covid-19 took a heavy toll on employees’ mental health. Working at home increases the time spent working, requires new ways of organising one’s time and setup, and reduces the separation between work and personal life. The increase in resignations across sectors is “not an industry, role or pay issue. It’s a workplace issue,” say Gallup’s experts. And so while terms like hybrid work and flexibility may be buzzing on the lips of work leaders, it’s not fully clear how work will be organised in the near future for many employees.
While talk of heading back to the office may be appealing and invigorating to some, the spread of the Delta variant in the United States is making the return of employees to the office more complicated. Apple is requiring its employees to work at home until at least October, while Amazon has announced a return in early 2022. These modes of operation imply creating more sustainable systems of management.
An empathetic approach to management, so that employees feel more independent, are comfortable in their set-up and enjoy a greater sense of well-being, as well as benefit from individualised performance management…
A host of issues that finally raise the real question at the centre of the health crisis’s work challenges: isn’t management the real key to creating a positive, productive workplace even if it’s hybrid?
— ETX Studio
