Analysis: thousands of workers are actively seeking out jobs and organisations with better working conditions
In 1977, Johnny Paycheck scored a country music hit with the song "Take This Job and Shove it". Little did the man born Donald Lytle know that millions of workers would take up his refrain 45 years later, leading to reports of the Great Resignation.
There is clear evidence that the labour force is in turmoil. There are reports that over 40% of Irish workers have left or intend to leave their jobs and resignation rates appear to be particularly high among older workers. It is possible that Ireland will show similar patterns to those shown in the US where many employees nearing their planned retirement age took early retirement rather than going back to jobs that often paid badly or to organisations that treated their employees badly. As companies start to bring workers back to the office, there are signs that the pace of resignations will accelerate.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, why are so many people leaving their jobs?
Many people are leaving their jobs, but the number who are leaving the workforce altogether is still relatively small. There is evidence that labour force participation rates are nearly as high as they were before the pandemic, suggesting that the Great Resignation may be an oversimplification. People are not leaving the workforce as much as leaving bad jobs and often finding better ones.
Others are demanding improvements in their workplace as a condition of staying. For example, unionisation drives are gaining steam at US Apple stores, McDonald's and Starbucks and workers around the globe are starting to flex their muscles.
Rather than talking about the Great Resignation, we should be talking about the Great Reshuffle. There are two versions of this going on at the same time. Some employees are leaving good jobs for great ones. My colleagues at the University of Limerick have written about the value of SMART job design. Jobs that provide stimulating work, mastery opportunities, agency (the ability to control work), good relational experiences and tolerable demands can provide a wonderful work experience.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, Louise Campbell from Robert Walters Recruitment on the Great Sabbatical
There are certainly many people who are leaving good jobs for jobs that incorporate many of these features, but my sense is that the larger movement is made up people leaving bad jobs for jobs that are not quite so bad. What defines a bad job? Many commentators cite low pay and little room for growth and development, but the top two reasons employees give for leaving their job are lack of appreciation and bad supervision. Boring work is sometimes cited as a factor in resignations, but bad colleagues are more likely to lead to resignation than boring work. Organisations can attract good applicants by offering good jobs, but they most often lose employees because they treat them badly.
During the pandemic, employment in the service sector dropped tremendously, and it is this sector where rebuilding your staff is likely to be most difficult. As pubs, restaurants and hotels start to come back to the pre-pandemic normal, they are likely to find staffing a tremendous challenge.
To some extent, bad treatment is baked into many service jobs. Shifts might be unpredictable, especially in venues that have traditionally depended on tourists. Service workers often interact with the public, and the pandemic has led to increased levels of incivility in jobs ranging from the restaurants to health care. The effects of uncertain schedules and bad treatment from customers are magnified when they are accompanied by supervisors who treat their subordinates badly. If you know that you are coming back to a job with a chaotic schedule, stressful interactions with the public and a bad supervisor, you are probably humming "Take This Job and Shove It" with increasing frequency.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today With Claire Byrne, career advice for those thinking about the Great Resignation from HILT Career Consulting's Sinead English
What can service sector employers do to avoid being left behind in the Great Reshuffle? One suggestion is that they should redefine the jobs of supervisors and managers. Traditionally, supervisors and managers have been concerned mainly with getting the most out of employees at the lowest cost. This model is not going to cut it in a work environment where workers have some choice about where and when they work.
The best managers and supervisors are advocates rather than taskmasters. They monitor office bullying and mistreatment and stop it in its tracks. They step in when a waitress in a pub is being sexually harassed by boozed-up customers. They make it their job to make your job easier, more predictable, and more tolerable. Most important, they treat their subordinates like valued human beings, not like cogs in a machine.
If we are lucky, the Great Reshuffle will spell and end to bad supervision, because companies that tolerate abusive managers and supervisors will find it impossible to attract and retain staff. I predict that the Great Reshuffle will lead to substantial short-term disruptions, but it will lead to better workplaces in the long run. I hope I am right about this.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
