Great Resignation : Back to the Source

Corporates, the business world, and management study are teeming with this new evolving trend of what they are terming as “The Great Resignation.” The shrewdness of rip-off from the “Great Depression” is to hammer home the severity of the situation that the trend is showing.

?We understand that it cannot be ignored, when we find tech-titans such as Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and Sundar Pichai of Google sitting up and taking note of the emerging situation.

?Surveys are pointing an upward trend of 25% to anywhere between 40% of movement to occur in the coming days. Reports says that there are now a record 9.3 million open jobs available in USA.

?What is triggering this Great-Resignation?

?1)???People seeing benefits to this WFH structure.

2)???For many, work-life balance has been successfully addressed.

3)???Spending quality time with near and dear ones instead of wasting precious time commuting.

4)???Increased productivity.

5)???Questioning the necessity of on-site working module since WFH module is working perfectly.

6)???Finding ways to earn money by doing jobs they actually like.

7)???For some, freelancing and web-based work is paying more, in terms of money and flexibility then the regular on-site job.

8)???Realization of the uselessness of this rat-race and replacing it with something more meaningful.

?There are other reasons too, like – With all the changes that is happening to follow covid protocol and such, workplace is not fun anymore to many. Some people are also quitting because they would like to come back to work, but their roles have been permanently incorporated into the WFH model, while for some, it is the other way round.

?The thing is – In the last 18 months, as the laid-track to life-career-money rat-race has been dismantled, people got time to think and evaluate their lives and everything in it. They are now trying to steer towards a more conscious living and questioning every norm. They have been forced to shed light into some hidden corners of their lives, and now that those corners are enlightened, they cannot ignore them anymore. They want more from themselves and their lives.

?While some people are calling this “Great Resignation” a fad that will wear off when the age old question of food-clothing-and-shelter will come in, I would like to believe that this whole situation is a churner – like manthan, that will trigger not change, but transformation. The thoughtless progress towards all things material and illusion will have to spread thin and make space for some real things that allows one to feel the tingling of life once again.

?Even though we understand that big multi-national companies, as well as the corner grocery shop needs to earn to survive, they also need to learn the art of seeking happiness. Kindly understand that I am not trying to paint a utopic world, where everything sounds all nice and glossy, but practically not doable. As we are taught to earn a living, irrespective of how big or small we are, so we need to be taught to learn smiling, irrespective of how rich or poor we are.

?The thing to consider is that, instead of trying to find ways to attract talent and then taking them back into the same model of work and delivery, it’s time to restructure the very concept of work and how it is to be done.

How can passion, hobbies, likes and dislikes of employees be addressed?

How differently can growth and prosperity be handled?

How to address work hours, mode of work VS output?

How can the invariable burn-out syndrome be handled?

If we can see this “Great Resignation” as not a mayhem to be conquered, but an opportunity to vastness, much will be achieved. Let’s remember that all that we do, our end objective is health, happiness and well-being. Let’s see this as an opportunity to go back to the source.

The views expressed in the blog is purely mine and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now or will be affiliated. ?