By Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of Resume-Library and CV-Library
“The Great Resignation” is a side effect of the pandemic that’s sweeping the globe, and stories around it have been making headlines over the last year. But are people seriously intending to leave their job in 2022 and if so, what are the reasons behind it and what will persuade workers to stay? The latest survey from U.S. job board Resume Library, to 50,000 candidates, offers some insight and answers on the topic.
“The Great Resignation” is real
The first thing to understand is that “The Great Resignation” is real. An incredible 66.7% of U.S. professionals surveyed in February 2022, reported that they do genuinely intend to look for a new role this year.
Why do American professionals want to leave their jobs?
We asked Resume Library candidates for their top three reasons for moving on in 2022, and the results were as follows*:
- 66.7% The uncertainty of the pandemic has simply delayed an inevitable decision
- 48.3% My employer has not treated me well during the pandemic and I feel that I have no choice but to move on
- 36.3% I want more flexible working opportunities
- 33.2% I am burnt out and need a rest/change
- 25.6% My outlook has changed since the onset of the pandemic, and I now want a job where I can make a difference
Why do American professionals want to re-skill?
A further 55.6% of the U.S. candidates surveyed plan to re-skill or retrain this year. Our results revealed that the driving factor behind this decision is the belief it will make them more employable. The desire for a more meaningful career, wanting better long-term job security, and being unable to find a suitable job with their current skills, were the other main factors for professionals in taking the decision to re-skill.
A perfect storm in the job market
The spread of COVID-19 has left national economies and businesses across the world, not just in America, counting the costs as governments struggle with decisions and lockdown measures to tackle the spread of the virus.
It has been reported that the pandemic has created the deepest recession in the American economy since the Second World War, but it has arguably created changes in each and every one of us as individuals as well. Not all of us have been impacted by the virus to the same degree, but it’s fair to say that it has impacted all of our lives and forced us all to ask ourselves some big questions and re-assess our priorities.
The combination of confidence slowly starting to build in the U.S. economy and the pandemic triggering people to re-assess their lives and search for more happiness, money, flexibility, and fulfillment has created a perfect storm in the job market.
What can employers do to keep hold of their best staff?
Well over half of the U.S. professionals surveyed revealed that they know someone who already resigned from their job in 2021. This pattern looks set to continue on a similar, if not greater, scale in 2022. Many businesses are already facing tough challenges getting back on track, so we asked candidates what they consider the main area’s that employers should focus upon to ensure that they don’t lose their best staff over the coming months.
The results, based on the top three answers, were as follows*:
- 66.7% Propose flexible or work from home opportunities
- 57.6% Offer top salaries
- 44.8% Provide medical care benefits
- 27.6% Supply good sick pay
- 22.1% Excellent managers to work with
The good news in these results is that employers can take action to prevent increased staff turnover. Offering top salaries is, and always has been, the obvious choice but flexible and working from home opportunities have become a main consideration for job seekers and is now a top priority. Investing in benefits packages and building strong internal teams also look to be smart moves that U.S. businesses can take in 2022 and beyond.
The last few years have taught us that nothing is as certain or predictable, in either life or business, as we once thought. “The Great Resignation” will pass, but higher expectations from employees and new patterns of working do look set to stay.
*Based on candidates’ top 3 answers
Lee Biggins is the founder and CEO of Resume-Library and CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board. The CV-Library site, founded in 2000, was a response to Biggins’ identification of a market niche. As a young carpet fitter at the time, he was struggling to find work and saw a need for an easy-to-use job board benefiting both job hunters and recruiters. With a £9k loan and help from a web developer, the CV-Library website was built. In 2014, he went on to launch Resume-Library, now one of the fastest growing job boards in the U.S. providing the ultimate hiring solutions for thousands of staffing agencies and employers of all sizes. With access to an entire pool of resumes belonging to talented job seekers, hiring professionals are able to headhunt the perfect candidates to fill every vacancy.
