Regretting The Great Resignation
By now, most of us are very familiar with the term “The Great Resignation.” If you haven’t, than you probably checked out of the workforce a long time ago. For those of us who are familiar, we all know someone who quit their job. We’ve read story after story about the millions of Americans who voluntarily left their jobs without having anything else lined up. We’ve heard friends and family members tell us they walked away from the workplace because they didn’t have reliable childcare. Or that they were concerned about catching the virus and passing it on to a loved one. Or that they were simply burned out by their current positions and viewed the pandemic as an opportunity to hit pause and reassess their priorities. However, for some there may be a seed of doubt in jumping on the great resignation bandwagon.
Additionally, many of these people also felt bolstered by the knowledge that when they were ready to go back to work, they’d have plenty of career options waiting for them. And they weren’t necessarily wrong – as of May 2022, there had been six straight months with more than 11 million job openings in the U.S.
“Based on everything we’re heard about the job market over the last few years, it’s understandable that so many people thought this would be a safe time to quit,” said Patrick Moraites, a partner and vice president at Tampa-based Axis Group. “But now that we’re starting to see the aftereffects of The Great Resignation, it’s becoming pretty clear the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
In fact, according to a recent report from job search platform Joblist, more than a quarter of the 600 job seekers surveyed said they regret deciding to quit their previous job.
What’s fueling these newfound regrets? Here’s what the researchers found:
● Their new jobs haven’t met their expectations: About 17 percent of the Joblist survey respondents said their new job “is not what they hoped for,” with just slightly less of them saying that their old job was better than they realized. Definitely a “grass is greener” situation!
● They miss their former coworkers: When you work together day in and day out with the same people, you often build a strong bond with them – and that can’t be found just everywhere. Some survey participants seemed to recognize that after moving on to new companies, with 22 percent of them saying they regret quitting because they missed their former colleagues.
● They haven’t found anything better: Your parents may have been right all along when they told you “don’t leave a job until you’ve found another one,” and that seems to align with what the researchers discovered. Forty percent of survey respondents say they regret quitting their jobs without having something else lined up. This proves that even though there are lots of open positions out there, it can still be extremely difficult to land a new gig.
While research indicates that many people who left their jobs during The Great Resignation wish they’d made a different choice, it doesn’t erase the fact that companies across the U.S. have lost some of their best and brightest employees over the last two years. And if they want to retain their remaining team members – and attract new ones – they may have to make some changes within their organization.
Here are a few of the things that employers should be doing in order to keep current employees happy and new recruits interested:
● Offer strong benefits packages: Simply providing generic health insurance isn’t enough anymore (though it’s definitely a good place to start). Employees want to have options that work for them, their lifestyles and their budgets. They also want to see things like 401(k) programs with employer matches so they can start saving for retirement.
● Be flexible: Now that we’ve learned that employees can be extremely productive working from home, very few people are eager to return to the office full time. By offering hybrid and remote work options and flexible schedules that encourage a work/life balance, employers are likely to have more success in their retention and hiring efforts.
● Create a positive company culture: Whether your team is working in the office or remotely, employers can and should make the effort to build a culture where employees feel seen, heard and valued. From education sessions on mental health and well-being to virtual happy hours to regular one-on-one meetings, the more supported and appreciated your employees feel, the better the work environment will be for everyone.
If implementing these measures feels like a lot to add to your already busy schedule, it may be time to think about hiring a PEO.
A PEO is a single-source provider of integrated business services that allows business owners to outsource their HR, payroll and other employment-related tasks. And because PEOs offer economies of scale by pooling employees from different companies, they can leverage insurance coverage and pricing and give their team members affordable access to those all-important benefit options.
“In today’s world, PEOs can be absolute lifesavers for a lot of companies who want to do right by their employees but are stretched thin on time,” Moraites said. “It’s definitely an option worth considering and trust me, you won’t regret it.”
Ready to start looking into whether a PEO is right for your company? The team at Axis is standing by and ready to guide you through your options. Contact us to set up a no-obligation consultation.
All-in-one PEO Outsourcing Solutions supporting Workers Compensation, Payroll Processing, Human Resources, Employee Benefits, and so much more!