Did Covid Wake Us Up?

Recently the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) reported that workers are continuing to quit their jobs at near record pace with at least 80,000 people leaving their jobs every month in 2022. This has been coined the ‘Great Resignation.’

South Carolina is now the fourth highest ranked for people quitting their jobs. A new study by WalletHub examined statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2022.

The top 5 states in the study and their rates of quitting for April were:

1. Alaska 3.90%

2. Florida 4.30%

3. Arizona 4.20%

4. South Carolina 4.00%

5. Georgia 3.70%

We are curious, why people are leaving. Has the pandemic forced us all to reevaluate our lives and the traditional 9-5 or shift work is no longer attractive? It appears that many people are assessing how they want to work, how and if they want to contribute to a company's bottom line, and how best they can share our talent and passion. How will this impact our labor market in 5 or 10 years, if we cannot attract and retain talent? Will we pivot and create spaces where people can have a true work-life balance and what will that look like? Will the influx of new entrepreneurs be able to thrive in the current climate? This topic has sparked conversation across the nation as employers scramble to find workers. Is there a shortage of workers or are the available workers deciding that the current employment climate is not suitable for them anymore?

To read the WalletHub article click here

Local response provided by Sonja M. Parker

Why do you feel so many people are leaving their jobs?

Mindsets have changed dramatically since COVID evolved. People found adjusting to COVID meant a new fear in the beginning due to the unknown, yet this tragedy created opportunities to reevaluate life. It caused people to consider, what's really important. Many of us knew things had changed but we could not foresee the full impact the pandemic would have on us and the world, but now we do.

In reviewing employment trends, it appears that many people are asking questions about their future, such as 'why am I doing this?' Am I satisfied with my job? Is the dissatisfaction I feel from my job worth the professional sacrifice, whether it is money, job flexibility, employer/employee relationship such as being appreciated and the list goes on and on.

Remote work created a space for people to evaluate how they spent their time such as the number of hours they worked, family time, more emphasis on self-care, and more efforts to decrease stress levels which may have been caused from the employment.

I guess, in a nutshell, people want to be happy and they discovered being happy depends on making better choices with their employment without the consideration of money. Money was a major factor in the past, and maybe this thought process is a thing in the past, or at least for now it's not the major driving force when making a career decision.

Sonja M. Parker