Off the back of COVID-19, the Great Resignation is here to stay. According to research by Deloitte, CEOs rank a labour and skills shortage as the #1 external issue expected to influence or disrupt their business strategy in the next 12 months.
If organisations want to put measures in place to prevent mass resignations, they first need to understand what drives people to leave jobs in the first place.
Deloitte’s recent report surveyed Millennial and Gen-Z employees and found these five factors to be the biggest contributors towards staff seeking greener pastures.
Money
Particularly for millennials, the primary motivation may be as simple as salary. Even before the pandemic, nearly half of millennials globally cited pay dissatisfaction as a reason for leaving their current employer.
The Deloitte 2022 Millennial Survey continues to show pay is the top reason millennials left their employers within the last two years.
Work-Life Balance
The pandemic, and the accompanying periods of isolation, gave many people an opportunity to slow down and re-evaluate how they were spending their time.
Different groups in different regions are shifting expectations: In the United States, high earners are more likely (52%) to want to reduce work hours and commitment than low-income workers (34%); in Singapore, millennials are job-hopping more frequently, and 46% of Gen Z workers are choosing non-traditional employment paths.
Workplace, Cultural, and Social Impact
Younger workers have long told pollsters that money is only one of several key factors in their employment decisions, and the tight job market offers the chance for them to follow through on their convictions. Deloitte’s Global Millennial Survey suggests that dissatisfaction with workplace culture and an employer’s social commitment are equally important reasons to consider leaving a job.
New Developments Drive Choice
Employees want to learn and grow in their positions, and, more importantly, contribute to areas that are important to them. Offering flexibility in work scheduling can appeal to both workers looking to slow down and those yearning to be busier, with some organizations offering workers additional workplace autonomy.
A Desire for Flexibility
Workers are rethinking not only how many hours they want to work but where, how, and with whom. Nearly six in 10 global workers would definitely seek new employment if they were no longer able to work remotely at their present jobs. Companies that have had to walk back announcements of in person work have learned, the “workplace” has expanded dramatically; hybrid and remote strategies are here to stay.
The IMI Take
Recent events have given us pause to reflect on, and re-assess, many aspects of our lives and workplaces. Could this awakening finally spell the end for the traditional workplace, command and control hierarchies, and the classical heroic leader?
Could this awakening finally spell the end for the traditional workplace, command and control hierarchies, and the classical heroic leader?
For a deep-dive into leading through the “Great Reassessment” see our blog article with Carol Mannion.
