“The Great Resignation” keeps growing before our eyes. Every month, the ranks of the resigned swell some more — nearly 57 million Americans quit between January 2021 and February 2022. Many companies seem to be struggling for answers in the face of skyrocketing attrition rates.
The Great Resignation Stems from a Great Exploration
Pandemic life forced people to reexamine their personal and professional priorities. Remote work alerted us to the possibility of decoupling jobs from geography. And a seller’s labor market empowers us to pursue it. Together these forces have been called the “Great Resignation,” but the authors argue that a better term is the “Great Exploration,” because it allows leaders to capitalize on the moment’s deep potential. If you embrace the exploration with empathy and support, you can position your company and its most valuable resource — your people — for personal and professional renaissances. Their conversations with chief human resource officers whose companies are facilitating this exploration revealed four key themes: They prioritize employee purpose, support flexibility, bring variety and passion to the workday, and create brand ambassadors.