What is the Great Resignation?
Zwi Segal, Co-founder of Motiva and Which Career For Me, gives an overview of the Great Resignation.
What is the Great Resignation?
Overview of the Great Resignation | Quiet Quitting, a variation of the Great Resignation?
As the Great Resignation hits, 43% of employees feel they are likely to change companies, according to the Microsoft Great Expectations 2022 survey, which is up two percentage points from the 2021 survey. The survey conducted by Microsoft in March 2021 in 31 countries revealed that 41% of employees surveyed were considering quitting.
So how do you attract and retain talents in such an environment?
Zwi Segal, Co-founder of Motiva and Which Career for Me, former President of the HR Academy, PhD in Occupational Psychology (Paris Descartes University), Professor in Human Resources and co-author of the book Motivation, a skill that develops, gives us his international expert perspective on the subject.
What is the Great Resignation?
The Great Resignation is a term coined by Anthony Klotz, professor of management at UCL (University College London) in May 2021. This phenomenon originated in the United States. Initially, the Great Resignation particularly impacted the younger generation and four specific sectors, namely the hospital sector, the health sector, the retail sector and the service industry.
“When faced with the precarious nature of life and the upheavals that can occur overnight, many people have realized that they no longer wish to do a job that they do not like and that brings them neither consideration, nor meaning, nor motivation. This is why the sectors most affected by the Great Resignation are also the most precarious, where the burn-out rate is the highest (tourism, catering...).” Zwi Segal, Co-founder of Motiva, PhD in Occupational Psychology and Professor of Human Resources.
To some extent, the Great Resignation has a social dimension. The phenomenon of imitation leads many employees to question their longevity within their organization. The trivialization of the Great Resignation phenomenon motivates many employees to make the leap, especially on social networks. On Tiktok, for example, the hashtag #QuitMyJob was seen 294.4 million times on September 15, 2022.
Nevertheless, in France, the phenomenon of the Great Resignation needs to be taken into perspective. According to DARES figures, the resignation rate reached 2.7% in France in the first quarter of 2022, but it reached 2.9% in early 2008, before the global financial crisis. Are the causes of these resignations different in France? The French economist Olivier Favereau states in an article in the newspaper Le Monde that the Great Resignation is more important in countries in which companies do not provide for any institutional space for shared decision making about "consent at work ". The phenomenon of the Great Resignation is smaller in France thanks to the organizational system that allows employees to participate in the company's strategic production choices.
A new trend has emerged in recent months. The Great Resignation is more prevalent among employees of generation Y (30-45 years old) with a higher level of responsibility (senior executives...). Due to the recession, the most precarious employees feel more fearful about leaving their job and their fixed salary. This turns the Great Resignation into a different phenomenon: the quiet quitting.
Quiet Quitting, a variation of the Great Resignation?
This new form of Great Resignation concerns employees who gradually disengage by prioritizing their work-life balance, but who nevertheless do not quit their jobs. According to Zwi Segal, the main causes leading to quiet quitting include lack of consideration, work overload and difficulties in balancing work and personal life.
This trend is growing in Europe, especially in Germany and England. It would be inspired by the Tang Ping phenomenon in China popularized on TikTok, where workers struggle with the work rhythm called "996". These three numbers illustrate the high and intense pace of many Chinese employees, who work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week.
“Prior to the health crisis, most workers in France and elsewhere were willing to compromise in exchange for a decent salary. However, new generations entering the workforce are not willing to sacrifice their personal lives for their careers. The pandemic has therefore triggered a massive awareness about the importance of work-life balance and its feasibility, especially through telecommuting and hybrid work.” Zwi Segal, PhD in Occupational Psychology and Professor of Human Resources
So, what are employees' expectations in the context of the Great Resignation? They want to give meaning to their work, benefit from more flexibility and develop their motivation. In fact, the quest for meaning and the search for balance are the main reasons cited for resigning.
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