It looks like the Great Resignation is finally over, here’s why

ByJasmime Kaur

November 16, 2023

There’s been a bunch of terms and concepts that we have gotten used to ever since the pandemic when it comes to the workplace lingo; there’s been the Great Resignation (which speaks for itself) quiet quitting, quasi working, boomerang employees and quite simply rage applications.

But the most worrisome trend has perhaps been the Great Resignation which saw million of people leave their jobs for a myriad of reasons. In the United States alone, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 35.9 million workers quit in 2020, 47 million in 2021 and 50.6 million quit in 2022.

The label, The Great Resignation was coined by associate professor Anthony Klotz who is an associate professor of organizational behaviour at University College London’s School of Management.

Labor Turnover

In an interview with Fast Company, Klotz said that he believed that the Great Resignation was finally over. “During the first half of this year, resignation rates made their way back down to around where they were in 2019. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report showed that the June quit rate was 2.4%, which is pretty much in line with where it was in 2019.”

The reason for the Great Resignation at the time was mainly due to worker burnout or pandemic related epiphanies that made people want to reevaluate their lives and priorities.

He said that the impact of flexible work is also still shaking out causing some quitting when companies switch work arrangements or when employees discover that they want a different work arrangement than their current one but this is mostly subsiding now.

Economic impact of the great resignation

The inflation however is inspiring workers to ask for more pay as wages don’t match up. But aside from the tech layoffs unemployment is still under control, workers still have options and can choose to quit if they want to.

But Klotz said that despite these small challenges, The Great Resignation in his opinion has been quelled as least for now.

But it’s far from over, LinkedIn estimates that 61% of U.S workers are considering leaving their jobs in 2023. Another study from FlexJobs found that 62% of workers are actively thinking about quitting or have recently quit.