In normal times, people quitting jobs is a rarity. But in the pandemic era, it’s becoming more common. People are choosing to leave their jobs for many reasons: they want more money and flexibility or they just can’t stand to work any longer because of how much stress there is in the office. The good news is that people are having a renewed interest in what work means to them and how they spend their time at work so when the pandemic does finally end, we will have an even stronger workforce with higher morale!
Jonathan Caballero is one of the millions of workers who are rethinking their life as the pandemic is starting to wind down. He has decided to work at a job with less of a commute because he has found that he values his time much more than he did before.
“I think the pandemic has changed my mindset in a way, like I really value my time now,” he said.
He found that more and more people are quitting their jobs because they want to work for themselves or find higher-paying positions elsewhere. “It’s not necessarily about money but it is also about flexibility,” Caballero said.
As the pandemic life recedes in the U.S., people are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility, and more happiness. Many are rethinking what work means to them, how they are valued, and how they spend their time. It’s leading to a dramatic increase in resignations — a record 4 million.
In normal times, people quitting jobs in large numbers signals a healthy economy with plentiful jobs. But these are not normal times. The pandemic led to the worst U.S. recession and millions of Americans who lost their livelihoods haven’t found employment since then- but employers now complain about acute labor shortages? Why is that?
In most economic recessions, when unemployment rates go up so does turnover: as more workers find themselves out of work they’re also less likely to quit for better opportunities elsewhere because there aren’t many other options available on the table anymore; it’s easier just stay at whatever job you have even if it doesn’t pay well or make much sense long term.
“We haven’t seen anything quite like the situation we have today,” says Daniel Zhao, who is a labor economist at the jobs site Glassdoor.
The pandemic has given many people all kinds of reasons to change direction. Some are leaving for better pay, others because their jobs weren’t a good fit and they were waiting out the pandemic before quitting while some fear returning to an unsafe workplace after being quarantined.
Hotel and Restaurant Workers Massive Resigned in April 2021
More than 740,000 people resigned from their work at bars, entertainment, restaurants, and hotels this spring. Jeremy Golembiewski, a general manager of a breakfast place in San Diego for the past 26 years, recently decided to quit his job. The pandemic had something to do with it: Work was becoming too stressful and he constantly battled unmasked customers who refused service when they were told that employees couldn’t serve them. Jeremy also contracted C19 and brought it home to his family which put them at risk.
Golembiewski also decided to take a furlough instead of working 6 days per week back when California entered its second lockdown in December of 2020. This led to Golembiewski spending more time at home with his two younger children. Setting up a playroom in the garage and experiencing what life could be like with more time at home. Normally Golembiewski would work 50 to 60 hours per week and would often miss important holidays at home with his family.
“I want to see my 1-year-old and my 5-year-old’s faces light up when they come out and see the tree and all the presents that I spent six hours at night assembling and putting out,” says Golembiewski.
This has driven Golembiewski to rethink his career path. He has enough in savings to last another month or two and in the meantime is building a new resume. He intends to find a job that only works him 40 hours per week.
Working Remotely From Home has also had a large impact on workers.
Workers who previously would have commuted to an office to work have now discovered the convenience of working at home. Although it was a bit of an adjustment at first, many workers have figured out how to balance their work-life with their home life in a whole new way. This has lead to increased satisfaction with life, more productivity, less traffic, and less pollution in many bigger cities.
“We have changed. Work has changed. The way we think about time and space has changed,” says Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School and author of Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere.
Alyssa Casey is a researcher for the federal government and had often dreamed of leaving Washington, D.C. to spend more time with her parents and siblings in Illinois. The Pandemic created an opportunity for her to work remotely from a rented house in Illinois with her husband where she was able to create an pandemic bubble with her extended family and enjoy the extra time together.
This extra time together has really shown Alyssa the family of family and time with family. She loves her job and would rather keep working remotely instead of quitting and starting over.
“I think the pandemic just allowed for time,” she says. “You just have more time to think about what you really want.”
Working has become more than just paying bills to many workers
The software developer Caballero knew that even though he how to work remotely this last year that eventually that time would end and he would have to return to the office. However, after 10 months of enjoying a job without a commute, he isn’t interested in starting that again. Even though he has the option of only going in 3 days per week he doesn’t own a car and public transportation doesn’t connect where he lives to the office.
This is why Caballero found a new position where he can work remotely full-time. This has given him the time he wants to work on his yard, build a fenced area for his dog, and more. “I do need to pay bills, so I have to work,” he says. But he now believes that work should accommodate life.
