We’re all familiar with the “Big Resignation” and how this emerged in line with the bounce back from economic recovery after the COVID pandemic.  

But, why are people leaving businesses? According to the Microsoft 2022 Work Trend index (a study of more than 31,000 employees in 31 different countries), it’s not down to pay, it’s because of the unsustainable workloads.  For example, between February 2020 and February 2022, weekly team meetings increased by a whopping 252%!

It’s clear that organisations need to take action and much of what we are seeing to stem the flow of resignations is focused around inclusive culture. From my perspective, they key areas to prioritise are:

• Candidates want to be sure that the organisation culture will allow them to be their authentic selves.  Many businesses are evolving their EVPs to reflect the new ways of working.  However, it’s critical that the EVP promises are met or exceeded all the way through the hiring and onboarding processes
• Hybrid working – candidates want to be assured that there is flexibility around where and when they perform their roles and this is balanced with a commitment to realistic workloads
• Values – alignment between what’s important to an individual and the organisation’s values has always been an important consideration for many, but never more prevalent than now
• Commitment to ESG – this is emerging as a key area of interest and increasingly candidates will assess an opportunity on the basis of a company’s commitment to global issues

The organisations who succeed in retaining and building their workforces for the future will be those who balance the hygiene factors of pay, role, development offerings etc. with the more pressing drivers that attract candidates to the organisation’s culture.  Not everyone is getting it right, but interesting to see how this will evolve!

During the pandemic, the global workforce was toiling away under the weight of chronic stress, financial insecurity, and collective grief. We became exhausted, self-efficacy decreased, and cynicism grew. It’s no wonder that people eventually hit the wall and started leaving their jobs in droves

https://hbr.org/2022/07/the-pandemic-changed-us-now-companies-have-to-change-too?deliveryName=DM202874