The Great Resignation: What Caused This Great Event

There were a sudden case of where a total of 4 millions of employees quit their job in July 2021, and In August 2021, the number Increased by 300.000, reaching a total of 4.3 millions of employees leaving their job in just a month. Employers are now in jeopardy to keep up with their work, but how did this happen? Why are employees leaving their jobs? This essay will discuss about The Great Resignation that was explained in ABC News article written by Lisa Leong, Monique Ross and Maria Tickle, "Here comes the Great Resignation. Why millions of employees could quit their jobs post-pandemic".

First of all, the main reason that caused this occurrence to happen is due to COVID-19. People has found different ways of seeing their life due to the lockdown, and now, many people have been thinking that from being locked down, they value their personal time, especially with their families. Aaron McEwan, a behavioural scientist interviewed in the article said "Today, employees don't want to be seen as workers. They want to be seen as complex human beings with rich, full lives." An employee not only does want to experience their work, they also wanted to know on how employers reshape them, to improve their life experience.

The Great Resignation is also relived by fundamental shift within their mindset regarding of their role of work in their lives. Today, many employees prefer to "down sizing" their job: less hours, less stress with less responsibility. 

Same case has been pressing Cathy, another interviewee in the article, she explained that she kept joining in many virtual meetings, it felt like she was being micromanaged while working with additional hours, "I vocalised my concerns, not just to my manager, but also the management above. But they did not take things seriously. And ultimately, I just did not feel that I was heard, I didn't feel that I was listened to," said Cathy. Downsizing one's work does not make it seem one to be lazy, but rather by having less responsibility, they can focus with their lives, which can fuel their motivation to be innovative in their work.

Next up in the article, it mentioned "quit parts of the work", is not to be mistaken as quitting is a part of one's work. Here, it means that one may have to quit a certain aspect of one's job. You can read the part where the author (or at least they mentioned "I") said "When all that travel was cancelled, I cried for a week," which gave the reader thought that they were definitely sad to lose the part of their job until they said "What I was feeling was a tinge of relief," which means that by having a part of their job cut-off from them, they never felt like to be relieved by it. 

There is also a statement mentioned in the article " many people had unconsciously bartered their lives for superfluities like fancy clothes and more land, which they then had to work harder to pay for", this part is undeniably true as people seek for wealth, moreso that they spend little time for themselves, friends, or even family. From what to be understood, many people also have some of their job hindered due to coronavirus, this lead to less working hours, and not to mention the  self-isolation that force people to shut themselves at their home, spending their time working via online meeting, while also having their time to be with their family.

The final discussion will be about how Aaron McEwan advices employers to witness this movement as to "reconfigure work so that it's actually designed for this new world that we find ourselves in", which could means that they must find the balance of the workforce so that both employers and employees are satisfied with their job. He also said that companies need to build up their employees' needs, thus as mentioned, keeping their stress or the work pressure to a minimum, keeping their employees to feel like they're treated as a human with life, not as a pawn.

The author mentioned that if one wants to join the Great Resignation, one must start with small steps, taking a big leap of job change would be the same as jumping into an endless loophole, if they couldn't manage to get used by such change. "Big changes often feel impossible because we feel like we have to achieve them instantly..." which is why it is never recommended to think big for a start, one can find stability if they approach things step-by-step.

After all, the pandemic itself have created my changes; from where the busy and crowded streets and roads to few or none because of self-isolation, or the economy stability having a huge downfall before recovering. 

The Great Resignation itself is due to the pandemic, but with it, people have started to think differently about their working life, that they find enjoyment during such time, having their work time lessened with moments to spend with their loved ones. 

This article is trying to reach those who are unable to change their perspective of their job, along with what-might-be the greatest impact for companies and organizations to re-evaluate their strategies, especially during the coronavirus outbreak. Excerpt from the article itself "Amid all the uncertainty of the pandemic is an opportunity to reshape your career and navigate towards something that makes you feel fulfilled," with the right decision, such opportunity can track a good life decision, along with a good stability.