The Great Renegotiation

Labor economist coined the phrase “The Great Resignation” last year as the world saw a huge increase in voluntary job separations. In a recent report from researchers at McKinsey & Company titled The Great Attrition is making hiring harder, the authors shared information and data collected from around the world to learn more about the driving forces behind “the great resignation” and the new priorities that workers are turning to.

They outline three different ways that employees are rethinking work I want to share.

First they call a “Reshuffling. Employees are quitting and going to different employers in different industries (48 percent of the job leavers in our sample). Some industries are disproportionately losing talent, others are struggling to attract talent, and some are grappling with both.” (De Smet, et al. July 12, 2022)

Second is “Reinventing. Many employees leaving traditional employment are either going to nontraditional work (temporary, gig, or part-time roles) or starting their own businesses. Of the employees who quit without a new job in hand, 47 percent chose to return to the workforce. However, only 29 percent returned to traditional full-time employment.” (Ibid)

Reassessing. Many people are quitting not for other jobs but because of the demands of life—they need to care for children, elders, or themselves. These are people who may have stepped out of the workforce entirely, dramatically shrinking the readily available talent pool.” (Ibid)

As an employer trying to understand some of the drivers affecting our current labor shortage may help you explore new strategies for recruitment of new talent.