What Organizations can Learn from “The Great Resignation 2021”?

2021 saw the coining of the term ‘Big Quit’ or ‘Great Resignation’ or what many are calling the ‘Great Attrition.’ Record numbers of employees are leaving their jobs after the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s an ongoing trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs.

More than 47 million US workers have quit their jobs since April 2021. Resignations are highest among mid-career employees and in the healthcare and technology industries.

How Has the Pandemic Changed the Priorities of Employees?

The pandemic gave employees the chance to reassess their priorities in life. After 14–15 months of working from home, returning to the old normal was tough, mentally, and physically, and employees expect to be given some leeway before jumping back in 100%. The companies that did not allow this breathing space for employees saw the most resignations.

This new world of work also required taking a new approach to benefits. Flashy perks or free parking were probably not on employees’ minds, as these perks had been replaced by something else, fear of burnout and post-traumatic stress. Thus, they expected benefits that could shield them from burnout and stress and provide work-life harmony.

How to Survive the Great Resignation as a Company:

The organizations that find success in the coming years will be those that embrace the opportunities to rethink old ways of employee engagement and how work is done.

Here’s how organizations can survive the great resignation of 2021 without losing employees:

• Promoting trust and transparency at every level: Retain top talent by trusting them enough to give them a little autonomy and being transparent about your business operations, policies, profits, and losses.
• Revisiting compensation and benefits packages: Employees now expect better work-life harmony, flexible working conditions, career development opportunities, and a respectful environment in a company. Organizations today need to revisit benefits by keeping the employee’s holistic well-being in mind.
• Prioritizing employee well-being over anything: There is a need to foster a positive work environment to prevent stress and burnout. Organizations need to re-assess how they hand out feedback and just how much their employees are appreciated and listened to.
• Offering flexible working conditions: If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it’s that virtual and remote work is here to stay, and many employees prefer working that way. Organizations need to offer flexible working conditions now, so employees work where they’re most comfortable.
• Providing adequate opportunity to voice their concerns: No one is better suited to help your organization and its culture grow and evolve than your employees. However, whistle-blowing and complaining against unethical doings have a history of being met with harsh consequences for employees. This leads to a ‘hush-hush’ culture where employees do not speak up on even the most legit concerns.

Digitalization has brought forward unique solutions, and organizations need to make full use of them if they wish to be viewed as companies that care about their employees. SafeSpace is one such solution- it is an anonymous platform that allows employees to voice concerns, ask for help and seek counseling and coaching. It is the ultimate tool for organizations to help reduce the (often huge) communication gap between employees and management.

Final thoughts

The Great Resignation is real and may get worse before it gets better. This kind of employee turnover is worrisome because this is probably the first time in history that workers are willing to quit a job without another one lined up. The landscape will continue to change as companies try out new hybrid-work approaches.

Yet this big quit also represents a big opportunity; employers can now get access to top talents that are willing to work with organizations that are futuristic in their approach to dealing with employees.

According to multiple surveys and suggestion boxes, the most common tools used by organizations to identify employees’ problems and create an inclusive workplace were failing to do so. Organizations need to take a step back, listen, learn, and make the changes employees want, and the best way to do it is to provide a secure channel where they can voice their demands and ask for help without being judged.

By learning why employees are leaving and by adapting to the changing environments, organizations may just be able to turn the Great Resignation into the Great Attraction.

Learn more about how SafeSpace can help your organization by fostering transparency in identifying issues to create a diverse, and inclusive workplace where employee wellness is at the core of priorities. Visit https://safespace.cyphertech.co for more info.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.