The Big Post-Covid Quit and How to Navigate it

The Great Resignation, also known as the Big Quit, is an ongoing trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs, from spring 2021 to the present. The resignations have been characterized as in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for the GCC, this includes a majority of the expatriate community moving back home, searching for growth and a secure foundational lifestyle.? What this implies is that, if you’re a business leader, almost half of your entire workforce may, right now, be thinking about the organisation.?

The term Great Resignation was likely coined by Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at Mays Business School of Texas A&M University, who predicted this mass exodus was coming in May 2021.?

Just when you thought you could see light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel and get back to resurrecting your business, now the next obvious concerns are your growth plans, your customers, your bottom line.?

Before we dive into the reasons before this unprecedented movement of talent, it’s important to note that certain demographics of society appear to be more open to the idea of quitting than others. As explained in this Guardian piece, “Socioeconomic differences will shape who is quitting and why.”

• Blue-collar workers: In this piece , Sandra Sucher, Harvard Business School professor and author of the forthcoming “The Power of Trust”, noted that low-wage workers are particularly motivated to change jobs with even marginally better offers. As explained in this BBC article , “Many retail and service workers are departing in favour of entry-level positions elsewhere – in warehouses or offices, for instance – that actually pay less, but offer more benefits, upward mobility and compassion. With employers across the board looking for new hires, many have found it’s easy to find another job and make the transition.”
• Gen Z: Microsoft’s research found that 54% of Generation Z workers could be considering handing in their resignation, and pointed to the fact that “…Gen Z reported difficulties feeling engaged and excited about work, getting a word in during meetings, and bringing new ideas to the table.”
• Mid-career workers and managers: Research from people analytics firm, Visier, found that the cohort of employees aged between 30-45 years old saw large increases in resignations between August 2019 and August 2020, signaling that those who are more established in their careers are more likely to consider switching jobs. Plus, as of December 2020, resignations among managers were 12% higher than the previous year.

Closer to home, here in the UAE, half of the professionals working want to change their jobs in the next 12 months, a survey has found. This compares with 31% of employees globally who wish to change jobs in a year’s time. As previously seen, the trend is more prevalent among the UAE’s younger generation of employees (Gen Z), with 57% of those aged between 18 and 34 years planning to switch jobs in a year’s time.

In comparison, 45% of UAE employees aged between 35 and 59 years intend to leave their jobs in the next 12 months, the survey by health insurance company Cigna found.

The company polled 18,043 people in 21 markets globally, of which 1,500 respondents were based in the UAE and 1,000 in Saudi Arabia. They were asked about their perceptions across five health indices, including physical, family, social, financial, and work, in March and April this year.

Part I - The Why

The reasons for wanting to resign include:

• They finally feel confident searching for a new job

According to Klotz, those people who had planned on leaving their jobs pre-pandemic but decided to hold off due to the instability caused by COVID-19, are now resuming their job searches with newfound gusto. As a result, the backlog of resignations that have built up over the last 18 months is now beginning to clear.

This is hardly surprising. With rising vaccination rates globally, and the gradual opening up of economies, we’re seeing a seismic shift in the job market and confidence returning almost everywhere in the world.?

• They’ve been given the time and space to reflect on both their personal and professional lives

If people weren’t already considering looking for a new role before the pandemic hit, then chances are that they are now. According to our recent LinkedIn poll of over 25k people, 74% said that the pandemic has made them consider their job or career choices.

Whether it’s feeling unsupported on a number of levels by their employers, or the fact that, as Klotz argues, we’ve all been forced to confront our own mortality in a way that we’ve never had to before, for many, the pandemic has afforded people the time and space to reflect on their working lives – something that many have never had the luxury of doing before.

• They just don’t want to go back to the office

After 18 months of working from their own homes, where they are the ones in control, doing their jobs in a way that works best for them, and enjoying the freedom to live their personal lives alongside their 9-5’s, some just don’t want to go back to the office. This, coupled with the fact that many have already relocated or are planning to be closer to family or to achieve the lifestyle they’ve always dreamt of, the prospect of having to return to the office has been a big trigger to leave for many people. This is reflected by Microsoft’s research , which found that 46% of people say they’re likely to move because they can work remotely now.

But is returning to the office, at least part of the time, really going to be as bad in reality as what many have convinced themselves it will be in their own minds? Lots of people, including myself, feel they have re-discovered a newfound sense of connection with people that they have been lacking for over a year, just by going into the office a couple of days a week.

In my mind, both our homes and our offices have a part to play in enabling us to lead fulfilling working lives, but I appreciate that not everyone feels that way.

• They’re burned out

We’ve seen the headlines – burnout right now is real and it’s rife. According to Microsoft’s survey :

• 37% of the global workforce say their companies are asking too much of them at a time like this
• One in five think their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance
• 54% feel overworked and 39% feel exhausted
• The average Microsoft Teams user is sending 42% more chats after hours, with 50% of people responding to Teams chats within five minutes

Microsoft argues that these frightening stats “…prove the intensity of the workday and that what is expected of workers during this time has increased significantly.” I’d have to agree. It’s no wonder so many people are reconsidering their job options.

Technology has been a great enabler for us all to continue to do our jobs and keep our economies and societies from total collapse over the last 18 months. Imagine if we had had to cope with a global pandemic just a few years ago without Teams and Zoom, no fast internet, no mobiles, no online banking/shopping/food delivery/Netflix/everything else that enables our lives today? If this had happened 20 years ago, I’m not sure how we would have kept working, so technology has been our saviour. But technology has also blurred the lines between work and private life and the level of burnout and exhaustion is unsustainable.

• They want to hit ‘play’ on their career growth

Everyone wants to feel that they are moving forward, that they are on the path to personal growth and success. The need to feel a sense of progress is an innately human one, but it’s a feeling many haven’t necessarily experienced for a long time.

Many have put their own personal development on pause. Instead, they’ve been busy keeping the businesses they work for afloat. Upskilling for many has been off the radar, a secondary concern that can wait until tomorrow, the next month or even the next year.

That mindset is starting to shift, with many reaching for the ‘play’ button again. High-performing workers, according to research from Axios , are the most concerned about their career advancement in their current job, with 75% of people saying the pandemic has made them question their skill sets.

Unfortunately, many feel that to reach the next level and achieve their goals, they have no choice but to move jobs. To me, this is a wholly avoidable challenge and one that employers should be tackling head-on. It’s well known that career progression is a crucial factor in employee engagement in an organisation. Without it, people who want to get on will go elsewhere and create value for someone else. And those that stay may well not be as engaged in your success as you hope or think.

• They are motivated by financial reasons

For those who have continued to work during the pandemic, their savings have probably increased. Without the commuting costs, the after-work drinks, the meals out or lunches in, most have actually managed to save money. This financial cushion has led many to feel more confident to make a move, or even to leave a job without having another lined up. For many, this financial freedom has given them more space to make the career decisions that are right for them.

Secondly, thanks to sites like Glassdoor and salary.com, people now have more visibility than ever before into exactly what salary their own unique skills and experience can command.?

And, when they do decide to move, particularly those working in tech and life sciences, they often realise a 15-20% salary increase. These numbers can make a big difference to someone’s finances and I’m sure are a huge driver behind all the movement we’re seeing in the market.

• They’ve realised they don’t actually like their jobs

Without the welcome distractions and colleague camaraderie that comes with working in an office, many people have been left to just do their jobs at home. And, with all of the peripheral interactions and distractions stripped back, many have realised that they don’t actually enjoy the work they do, especially when they don’t have all the other softer stuff to break up their days. The reality of what they do has really hit them.

?As a result, there’s been a huge rise in people choosing to go it alone and set up their own solo ventures. According to the National Bureau of Economic Statistics, the pace of new business applications since mid-2020 has been the highest on record, and across the course of the pandemic there’s been a rise in side hustles. This is echoed by Microsoft’s research which found that 46% of people are planning to make a major career pivot or transition.

Part II - The Fix

You are likely juggling two pressing needs: hiring to backfill people who have left and hiring new people to support business growth. The scarcity is real — too few people for too many jobs. The imbalance of this supply-demand highlights more than ever that productivity is about people.

The best way to stabilize your business is to stem the challenge of attrition and increase your retention. In the frantic need to hire more people, the group we often forget to attend to are the folks who stay — those showing up day-in and day-out shouldering the work that needs to get done. Think about what these people — the ones who are here, working for and with you — need now. The short answer is they need to be seen for who they are and what they are contributing. It’s your job as the leader to make sure they’re getting the recognition they deserve.

As employers, leaders, managers, and HR professionals, you’ve been dealing with a lot of uncertainty and change. You have a lot on your plate. Not having the right people in the right quantities in the right seats to get the work done creates a hamster-wheel effect — you keep running, faster and faster, exhausted with forces outside your control. So let’s control what you can control, and that is you. If you want to stem the rate of turnover in your organization or team, you must look inside yourself and decide what is possible. So, let’s stick our finger in that proverbial hamster wheel and make it stop for a minute. Let’s pause and see what is possible, what you can do to make a difference.

Here are four steps leaders can take now to best navigate the Great Resignation:

1. Be aware of your impact.

As leaders, people are watching you all the time whether you realize it or not. So, pause and consider how you are showing up in both your words and your actions. Let’s say your company is experiencing a record YTD turnover of 25% and hiring is falling 60% below target (real scenarios in far too many companies). Your people are worried and stressed. How do you message the realities of these pain points to your people? Are you aware of how your own concerns and frustrations are experienced by others? Are you unintentionally adding to their fear and uncertainty? When you become aware of your impact, you can control it and steer it in the right direction.

2. Focus on potential and possibility.??

On the flip side, let’s say your organization has 75% retention and you have attracted and welcomed a large number of new people to the organization. Consider what outcome you want to create out of this uniquely disruptive time. This is a time to be grounded in pragmatism blended with possibility, gratitude, and recognition of what your people, old and new, are going through. Get curious and ask:

• What do you envision as the best possible outcome for this situation?
• What excites you about that?
• What does that give you/the team/the organization?

When you communicate to your people in this way, the impact is one of potential and possibility instead of fear and uncertainty.

3. Make it okay to leave.

Speaking about communication, let’s look at one other area where you may be creating an unintended impact — how you and others in the organization treat people when they leave.

In far too many companies, when an employee gives notice the reaction is akin to an emotional breakup — you’ve been left and you feel rejected. This triggers some not great behavior like a tendency to make the person leave “wrong” and doubt their trustworthiness or integrity — even though that was not the case before they gave notice. There is a penchant to dismiss their presence and devalue their contribution. Think deeply about what this type of behavior signals to the departing employee and remember those that remain and are watching.

An alternative is to approach these transitions with gratitude. It’s helpful to realize the era of lifelong employment is over and with rare exceptions, your employees are with your organization as a pit stop on their career journey. They’ve contributed and hopefully, they’ve learned some new things. They are not the same person they were when they joined and the same goes for you and for the organization. What would it be like to pause when a resignation occurs and give voice to these things from both sides of the relationship? What would be created if you paused to acknowledge how both sides of the relationship have grown and evolved? Rather than viewing a resignation as a rejection of the relationship, what could be possible if you began to view it as an inflection point in its evolution?

The talent pool is tight, and careers are long. End this phase of your time together with appreciation.

4. Give your employees the respect and attention they deserve

The marketplace for talent has shifted. You need to think of your employees like customers and put thoughtful attention into retaining them. This is the first step to slow attrition and regain your growth curve. And this does not happen when they feel ignored in the fever to hire new people or underappreciated for the effort they make to keep business moving forward. You cannot take your people for granted and expect them to stay — healthy relationships do not work that way. Here are three steps:

Re-recruit them.

Consider what conversations would be like if you were recruiting them to your company.

• Spend time to understand their motivations and ambitions. With so much new hiring happening, identify where opportunities might exist inside the organization (even if it is outside of your team) to help them fulfill unrealized dreams and ambitions.
• Help them see and claim the positive impact they are making in the organization. Acknowledge not just what they are doing, but why it matters. Let them know what you appreciate about how they are showing up during difficult times. People want to know they are making a difference.
• Don’t stop. These are not one-time conversations. You can’t just wade in, have a talk, and think all is good. This should be the primary focus of each manager and leader in your company.

Reward them.

This may ignite the need for a systemic look at how and what is recognized and rewarded in your organization. Now maybe the time to challenge the status quo if what you are seeing from your people and hearing from the talent marketplace is misaligned to your company’s current reality. This is not just about paying people more — research tells us the motivational effect of pay raises is short-lived. Just as important is how you recognize and value the contributions and impact of your people.

• Think about the DNA of your organization. If the old ways of doing things no longer serve the organization and its people, figure out what does.
• Be willing to let go of the past … it’s gone.
• Play the long game here. Be sure your company’s compensation philosophy is clear and understood by all. (That starts with you.) Make sure accountability is in place so that those current employees are not shorted when new people are hired.

Equity starts in how you value contribution. You may not be the only one in your organization to fix the myriad of issues linked to recognition and rewarding your people, but you can lead. You can give voice to the issues and advocate for accountability.

Engage them.?

Businesses are hurting and at the root of that pain for many today is a shortage of people to do the work. Your existing people feel that pain as they extend themselves to pick-up extra shifts to provide coverage, listen to customer complaints when they are helpless to fix the real issue, or witness one more colleague call it “quits” when their tipping point is reached. So, be bold and engage your people in helping you solve problems.

• Ask for their help. This requires courage because admitting that you do not know all the answers is vulnerable work. It takes strength and confidence to appreciate that outcomes are better when more ideas are included when fuller representation is present and diverse perspectives are heard.
• Give them agency to help mitigate the day-to-day concerns they are faced with. Create space for them to step up, participate and inform the way forward. This sends the crucial message that they are trusted and valued.
• Focus on the desired outcome. Actively seek the insights of diverse voices and points of view into what will help achieve it, especially insights and ideas different than your own. Remain open to being surprised and delighted.

Closer to home, here in the UAE, one of the key legislative changes being introduced as part of 'Projects of the 50' is a restructuring of the entry and residency system, which is being upgraded to confirm the UAE’s position as an ideal destination for work, investment, entrepreneurship, education, and life. The UAE authorities are relaxing the grace period which now allows people to stay from three to six months after losing the job.??

“We are relaxing the grace period one gets to leave the country after being made redundant. Instead of the previous 30 days, people will have 90 to 180 days to leave the country,” said Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

The measures aim to enhance the competitiveness and flexibility of the UAE labour market, facilitate sector growth, spur knowledge transfer and skills development, and create greater stability and security for residents.

There are many reasons why employees may be considering leaving their jobs. While some may be outside of your control, getting proactive about the things you can control can help you get ahead of the Great Resignation and avoid losing your best people.

You lead the way by opening the door. Daring to be vulnerable and to not to know it all paves the path to creating deeper engagement and loyalty from all your stakeholders: teammates, peers, colleagues, and direct reports.?