Here's What's Behind The Great Resignation, and How Employers Can Be Prepared

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The last few years have been challenging for professionals around the world. Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, working norms have changed forever. This made organizations and employees across the board face unforeseen circumstances, affecting their professional choices significantly. This also led to what is being called the Great Resignation.

What is the Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation is referring to the phenomenon of a large volume of professionals resigning across the world. As the approach towards work has changed over time, employees working in all major industries are considering quitting their jobs or switching to better opportunities.

The Great Resignation is certainly not an overnight phenomenon, and the pandemic should not be blamed for being the only reason behind it. Many employees have decided to leave their jobs due to physical and psychological burnout as a result of tension building up for several years. Professionals are also resigning in order to tap new opportunities.

Reasons behind the Great Resignation

While the causes of the Great Resignation are incredibly complex and varied, we can point to a few key areas that are most likely key contributors. If employees are able to counter these factors in a positive way, their businesses are likely to emerge from this crisis in a better and more way healthy position.

Immense professional frustration. Over the last two years, professionals across the board have had to deal with increased work pressure. As companies started letting employees go, the remaining workers had to shoulder additional responsibilities. This, coupled with the need to adapt to the “new normal,” resulted in immense professional frustration, ultimately leading to a state of burnout.

Owing to the trend of working from home, the lines between work and leisure often get blurred, making professionals work beyond their dedicated hours. This added to their mental and physical toll, driving employees towards the Great Resignation.

Lack of childcare facilities. In the case of young parents who were dependent on childcare centers to carry on with their jobs, the pandemic forced them to stay at home and cater to their kids. As most childcare centres were shut down during the height of the pandemic, many professionals ended up quitting their jobs to look after their kids at home. Although people have been getting back to work of late, plenty are still struggling to establish a balance between their personal and professional lives.

Getting used to remote working. Despite having its share of drawbacks, the trend of working remotely has been welcomed by thousands of professionals around the world. The pandemic made employees see their professional lives from a different perspective. Remote working allowed professionals to work from the comfort of their homes and still be productive.

Now that the pandemic is waning and companies are calling employees to work full-time from the offices, not all employees are comfortable going back to the old ways. Working remotely for almost two years has gotten several employees used to the new trend. Some employees will inevitably quit their existing jobs and search for new opportunities if their employers leave them with no option but to work on-premise.

How to prepare for the Great Resignation?

Although the Great Resignation has resulted in companies losing valuable talent, employers can still prepare to avoid further resignations from their employees.

Setup a hybrid workplace. Organizations around the world have started adopting the new trend of setting up hybrid workplaces. A hybrid workplace allows employees to work on-premise as well as remotely. If you provide a choice to your employees to work at their convenience, they will be more likely to prefer being associated with your company for an extended period.

Train your frontline managers. It is often said that employees do not leave companies — they leave bosses. If you are wanting to survive the Great Resignation, it is always advisable to train your frontline managers to establish healthy relationships with your employees. Especially in the case of remote employees, make sure that managers pay individual attention to the needs of every employee without making them feel left out. Once your managers successfully build a rapport with your employees, you may not have to worry about valuable talent leaving your company.

Provide personalized employee support. The support provided to your employees often plays a vital role in their engagement. If your workers cannot seek quick and personalized solutions to their issues, it will reduce their genuine drive to work for your company.

It is advisable to implement modern employee service desks that provide automated and personalized support to your employees as a solution. These platforms are driven by technologies like AI and machine learning to understand the context of the issues raised by your employees. This will prevent your team members from looking for support on different platforms. A centralized solution to all your employees’ issues will make them feel valued and stay engaged with your organization.

Give priority to mental well-being. Along with the physical well-being of your employees, it is advisable to cater to your employees’ mental health amid, particuarly aftering we’ve all endured this pandemic. Management needs to provide workers with an ideal work environment. Make sure that your employees are not overburdened with work and maintain a healthy work-life balance. A mentally healthy team of employees are more likely to stick around for a long time and help you attain your business objectives.

The Great Resingation is no myth, but it needn’t be your reality.

This article is from Entrepreneur.com