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Great Resignation Or Great Awakening: Why Workers Are Leaving Organizations Rapidly?

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In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time record in the history of United States and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a total of 4 million Americans quit their jobs by July of 2021. In the UK, the number of open jobs surpassed 1 million for the first time ever in August.

The economist are referring to this trend of voluntary resignations as ‘Great Resignation’ and suggesting a strike against worker protection and wages; however, the number presented to paint the story of a pandemic-induced mass resignation aren’t entirely straightforward and represent the full story. For one, we don’t have enough longitudinal data to calibrate the scale of voluntary resignations as the US government has only been tracking data since 2000. Additionally, job resignations were already at record highs in 2019, before Covid-19 knocked on our doors.

Then, there are many experts of social and medical studies, who believe the trend is less about economics and more about a desire, a search and active discovery reach to enhance our collective experiences. For example, according to Anthony Klotz - associate professor at Texas A&M University said to BBC, “...[W]e don’t know [who’s making up the bulk of resignations even]. I’ve seen reports that it’s mid-career level people, I’ve seen reports that say it’s Generation Z, or ‘everyone’s retiring early, it’s the boomers’ – I don’t think we have a good idea of it right now.” Indeed, the current data suggests resignation rates are highest among mid-career employees and in the technology, professional business and health care industries, but these are not your entry level operators, who manage day to day. These are experienced professionals, who are empowered to pave the pay and not seeking security, rather, likely suffering from prolonged issues caused by the economic systems they have been serving. Many of us do.

When we look to understand the formulation of the current world order, most of us would agree that the majority of imperatives have to date has had a good value and the original intent was clearly to serve human beings. Unfortunately, with time, in the same system human beings are now finding themselves fighting for their dignity, equity and equality they deserve as a birth right. In the current economic system purposefully set up, we seem to have completely lost perspective on the value generation for the individual and the collective. It is evident that most working people have been operating as a means to an end. At times, consciously, at other times, unconsciously exchanging their ideas, skills, abilities to become very tools for the substance of an economic life they do not require nor seek. Some would go as far as to say and for at least the last twenty years, work is no longer a means to an end for us, it is our collective intellectual power that has driven the companies, societies, ecologies forward and it has come at the expense of our individual wellbeing.

The exchange comes at a cost. That said, if we have lost focus on the human and our interdependence with each other and our surroundings, perhaps this may be one of the upsides of the Covid-19 phenomenon. It actually reminded and continues to remind us that what’s human at the core and what binds us together is still valid. We may be now re-finding our value through our relationship to one another and to nature. To this end, as stated by Derek Thompson in the Atlantic, “… perhaps the level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, We can do better.”

Make no mistake, to transform existing businesses into human-centered organizations, companies will need to clearly understand the key distinctions between future and traditional organizational models and the interplay between individual and collective action. At the moment, very few organizations have a shared language or a clear definition of what they mean when they say “hybrid work” or “hybrid workplace”, as an example. Even when there is an agreed upon definition, revision is limited. Hybrid work practices must evolve beyond the “on-site plus remote” equation the lockdown has created. There is likely a third option that offers complete reinvention. It is likely that the companies that take a full step back to rethink culture formations will be the ones to help individuals discover full and hidden potential in capacity while expanding organizational capabilities beyond what is in the visible picture.

This is where centering “humans” at the core of an organizational context and designing for both intrinsic and extrinsic needs to build meaningful life experiences becomes fundamental to reforming agility. There is an expansive body of evidence spanning psychology, neuroscience and even economics revealing that as a species our default mode is not only one of self-centeredness. We are equally wired to connect and we care to take part in greater purpose. When we are provided with a self-opportunity, we become able. This is one part of the story. Then, when we have capacity to connect, our physiology improves for the better. There is also evidence that shows when our physiology improves, our emotional state improves and with the right conditions, our spiritual state improves as a result. In that holistic state of authenticity and serenity, we become better geared towards collaboration and creativity. From there, our productivity flourishes. Those 21st century organizations interested in sustained growth, they must put the people at the center of their work design processes.

There is more for us to discover regarding the future of work. The causes of current voluntary resignations is likely more faceted than proposed by today’s economists and the question may not be so much about how or where we spend time doing work, but rather about how we create the conditions for individuals and the collective to flourish better. The inventions of the past were a result of our optimism in visioning. Perhaps the inventions of the future will be a result of our pessimism in visioning. Where we no longer believe in the progress of the system in itself, perhaps we need to start acting in ways to evolve humanity forward. Perhaps this is a new way of activism for all of us global workers. Perhaps, it is not a quit but a reach for something other. Perhaps, this is more of a ‘Great Awakening’ than a ‘Great Resignation’…

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