Kader: Why is everybody suddenly resigning! People around me are quitting their jobs left, right and center! Friends, colleagues, juniors, seniors
it’s a mass exodus!
Ajay: Ah yes. You are referring to the ‘Great Resignation’.
Kader: I don’t understand. At the beginning of the pandemic there were mass layoffs, and whoever escaped the cull felt lucky to still have their jobs. What has changed since then?
Ajay: A pandemic is a life altering experience my friend. Do you think its impact has been limited to our health and finances? It was also a big philosophical jolt. It threw us off the track, changed the courses of our lives, forced us to recalibrate our priorities.
Kader: True. But how did that lead to mass resignations?
Ajay: Simple. Employees changed, employers didn’t. The pandemic has made people realize there are bigger things than the monthly salary – work-life balance, job satisfaction, flexibility, belongingness, long term career value and growth
As employee priorities have changed, companies can’t hold back their staff anymore with compensation alone. Take a closer look; you won’t see much attrition at companies who treat their employees well and make them feel belonged.
Kader: Yeah, I think you are right.
Ajay: We are going through a great transition. Old ways need to change. If you don’t prioritize your people, they won’t prioritize you anymore. Because, as Murakami wrote, when you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in
