Americans are reassessing the way they work. According to an
August 2021 poll, more than half of workers surveyed said they
plan to look for a new job in the coming year. Fifty-six
percent of respondents said adjustable working hours and
remote work were a priority. And while some people have left the
workforce entirely, job security and better pay are also top
concerns for employees.
It's time to find something that is going to be better for my
family, something more stable, something that I can provide,
where I don't have to go to work and be like, oh, is he gonna,
you know, am I gonna get fired today? Or is he not going to be
happy with, you know, the service.
In August 2021, almost 4.3 million Americans quit their
job. The resignation rate hit a 20-year high of 2.9%. Working
women have faced an even heavier burden juggling childcare
duties, virtual schooling and their careers.
We're all able to take a step back in the last year and spend
more time doing other things and really question the value of
what we're doing at work. A number of people have made the
decision I need to make a change, I need to, I need to
simplify.
Dubbed "The Great Resignation", the exodus of workers has left
millions of jobs unfilled and created hiring challenges for
companies. So what does the realignment of the workforce
mean for employees and businesses? And what steps
should you take before quitting your job?
U.S. workers are leaving their jobs in droves. In August 2021,
almost 4.3 million Americans handed in their resignation,
including 971,000 people working in the leisure and hospitality
industry, which includes hotels and restaurants. Another 1.3
million workers were laid off or discharged by their employer.
Jessica Thomas is one of those workers. She spent nine years in
the restaurant business in northern New Jersey before Covid
hit. With cases surging and customers avoiding dining out,
the bar where she worked temporarily shut its doors in
the Spring of 2020, leaving her without a job and a paycheck.
But also in that industry, you know, if you're not working,
you're not making money. So there are no sick days. There's
no vacation time. There's no health insurance.
Uncertain when her job would restart, the mother of three
found herself at home relying on unemployment benefits. Her
husband, Derek who works as a bartender, faced a similar
dilemma.
A lot of people took the time that, you know, when you have
the time off and you're sitting home collecting unemployment,
they took the time to find other careers.
I didn't hear anything from the owner until I think it was a day
before when he was going to okay we're reopening. There was no
communication, nothing. So for me, that kind of just made me
want to get out of that industry.
In August 2021, the separation rate for hotel and food service
workers, which includes quits, layoffs and retirements,
increased to 8.3% from 6.7% the month prior. And while the
pandemic has caused a severe blow to employment overall, it
is especially impacted working mothers. As of January 2021,
there were 18.5 million U.S. mothers living with their
school-aged children while actively working, 8% percent
less than a year earlier. On the advisor brother-in-law, Jessica
applied for a job at the Port of Newark, New Jersey, home to the
East Coast's busiest port.
When I went in the gentleman at the door said, "you know you're
at the wrong building" and I said "no, no, I'm at the right
place." He goes, "no, no, the the nurses for the Covid testing
is the other building." I said, "no no, I'm here to apply to be
a longshorewoman."
In Jessica's new job as a longshorewoman, she helps load
and unload cargo ships that bringing electronic, apparel and
consumer goods from around the world.
Monday I drove 1,700 Toyota's off of a ship. We got there at
7am we got done at 5pm. And you drive the car off, get back in
the van, go back up, drive the car off until the ships done.
Nobody leaves until the ships complete.
Her new job also gave her a salary boost, double the pay of
her previous job at the restaurant with benefits ranging
from paid vacation to health insurance. And according to a
May 2021 survey, Jessica is not alone. Almost half of workers
polled said they are rethinking the type of job they want in the
future. More than half said they would retrain for a new career
if they have the opportunity.
I feel like I'm always trying to find balance in my life.
Balancing with working and all the kids stuff, my relationship
with my husband. Everyday it's like okay, how am I going to do
this? How are we going to get through this?
According to an August 2021 study, almost a third of workers
at large U.S. companies said they are likely to change jobs
in the coming year. Younger workers are even more likely to
uproot their careers. Half of Gen Z workers, particularly
those struggling with productivity and time pressure
issues at work plan to switch jobs in the coming year.
According to one financial planner, there are three
solutions to remedy a non-ideal work situation. For starters,
small changes can make a big difference. The easiest and
least disruptive way forward for you and your company is to tweak
the job you already have.
I would encourage employees to go have what I would call a job
crafting conversation with their manager and say I love this 60%,
this 40% not so much, what can we do, and that could be
everything from maybe you just cut back to three days a week,
and your job becomes a smaller job.
Volunteering or side hustle could be another way to
cultivate experience and explore new industries. Another benefit,
after a couple months, you can stop, continue or test out
something else. And finally, if you're in a job that is mentally
or physically trying has a poor work-life balance, or limited
growth opportunities, that may be a signal, it's time to look
for a new job. But before quitting financial planner Roger
Ma advises to take a look at your financial situation, and
find out how much it costs to fund your lifestyle.
And then once you know that number, let's just say that your
expenses are $50,000 and to be able to fund that you need to
make $80,000 then you can start to look at what are the roles,
what are the positions, what are the industries that pay that
amount. It might be roles in a similar industry that you're in,
or maybe you've been in your industry for a while and you're
looking to pivot.
While searching for a new gig financial advisors say, it's
easier to find a new job if you already have one, and it also
puts you in a better position to negotiate your salary. Leaving
on good terms is another tip.
Even though you may think I will never come back to this company
again a little insurance policy would be leaving on the best
note possible. So maybe you leave that door open to
boomeranging back at some point in the future.
The U.S. has seen a record number of people quit their
jobs. But what's led to the boom in resignations? Several factors
according to Anthony Klotz, associate professor of
management at Texas A&M University. For starters, the
pandemic forced Americans to take a hard look at their lives
and reevaluate their careers.
But as a result of the deep thinking that people did during
the pandemic, I reasoned that a number of them would plan life
pivots coming out of that sometimes those life pivots
would not involve a job change but in many cases, because of
how central careers are to our lives, it would it wouldn't
necessitate a career change.
Working from home with another factor. According to Klotz, a
number of people who work remotely at the start of the
pandemic have been unwilling to give up their autonomy.
I think what we're finding is a number of employees who worked
remotely felt like they could be more of themselves than they
could in the office. And maybe in some cases, they felt like
there was less harassment, less microaggressions, wear the
clothes that they want, the hair the way they want. Burnout
and mental health are another component. According to one
survey, longer workweeks have become even more embedded in
business culture. And the boundary between work and
personal life has shrunk. More than 40% of workers at large
U.S. companies said they had difficulty setting work and
personal life boundaries. And almost 45% said they felt
pressure to be reachable at all times.
There were lots of reports that burnout was at all-time highs
for individuals and burnout is a pretty clear predictor of people
quitting their jobs. Increased
economic independence has also led to the rise of resignations.
According to an August 2021 study from Oxford Economics,
American saved an additional $4 trillion during the Covid
pandemic. While about 70% of that gain went to the wealthiest
20% of Americans, analysts say the economic uncertainty of 2020
forced many people to delay their retirement plans until
2021.
My sense is early retirements are up. People taking a break
from the workforce like their own sabbatical is up. And that's
supported by 2020 was only the second year in the last 35-years
where American household debt actually went down.
Businesses across the U.S. are struggling to find workers. In
August 2021 there are 10.4 million job openings across the
country. According to a Q3 2021 CNBC survey, half of small
business owners say it's harder to find competent people to hire
than a year ago and nearly a third so they have jobs they
haven't been able to fill for at least three months. But while
the number of job openings has reached historic proportions it
might not be an entirely new phenomenon.
Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking this
back in 2000 the rate of employee resignations per month
has gone up fairly steadily over the past 20 years. To entice
workers back employers have come up with incentives ranging from
college tuition to signing bonuses. In August 2021, Target
announced a program to pay 100% of its workers college tuition.
The big box retailer said in addition to tuition, it would
cover textbooks and fees for employees pursuing 250 college
programs at more than 40 institutions. Chipotle,
Starbucks and Walmart offer similar debt free education
programs. Other companies have boosted pay. McDonald's
announced in May it was raising hourly wages at company o
ned restaurants. Walmart, U der Armour and Walgreens
ave announced similar pay hikes. And according to analysts, hi
ing new employees is only half the battle. Companies face a
teep penalty if they are unab e to retain employees they al
eady
I think it's incredibly expensive to lose talents and
especially a lot of talent and so that you've got the loss of
maybe this person has been thinking about it for some time,
they're unhappy so you're not getting the most out of them
while they're there, and then, you know, eventually when they
decide to leave, you might have to spend several months to be
able to attract new talent.
According to a 2017 study by the Work Institute, based on a
median U.S. salary of $45,000 the average cost of turnover per
employee is $15,000. That figure includes direct costs, like exit
processing and relocation expenses, as well as training
costs and lost productivity. According to the group, the cost
to U.S. employers from worker resignations in 2016 alone was
$536 billion. But despite these issues, analysts say that the
wave of resignations we're experiencing could ultimately
lead to an improvement for the lives of both workers and the
organizations that employ them.
I think the one silver lining out of this is that the pandemic
has gotten people to review or question things that they've
done in the past and maybe if you have been on autopilot, it's
given you that kick to say, you know, this job, I've been on
autopilot this doesn't really align with my interests or my
long-term goals and I'm gonna make a change. With this
many resignations that means there's lots of talented
employees who aren't working right now for any number of
reasons. And so a lot of organizations see that as an
opportunity as well, to improve their organization and improve
their talent pool. Invest in you ready, set, grow, CNBC and
acorns.