By Steven Street, Cubed Talent CEO
Much is made of the so called, Great Reset. It seems post-pandemic; an increasing number of employees are smashing down on the ctl/alt/del buttons – and in doing so, signalling an existential reset of their careers, aspirations and futures.
The other (uncomfortable) side of the ledger – ‘Voluntary employee turnover’
There has been an unrelenting barrage of news, analysis and commentary about the unprecedented and seemingly, week and on week, increase in new job opportunities being announced across most sectors of the UK labour economy.
The usual go to metrics and headlines – more often than not- understandably, seem to focus on new jobs published and jobs filled. The metaphorical elephant in the room however is the number of resignations being tendered (or as economists euphemistically call it - Voluntary employee Turnover) – essential to the supply side equation.
Some of us will remember the days when landing a job straight out of school that would see you through to retirement is now no longer an option, nor is it something that many would entertain as a life well lived.
Savvy workers are hyper-alert to where best to invest their skills and potential – carefully weighing up their options. Sadly, too many employers are still hanging onto the belief that there’s still a steady supply of wannabe’s – forming a queue at the factory/office entrance.
Job hopping is no longer seen as a stigma it once was - or a reflection of a workers’ commitment, fortitude or loyalty – in fact, the stock and appeal of the most in demand workers is enhanced as they land high profile gigs with market leading players.
Workers are citing their reasons for making for the exit – reasons include, but are not confined to:
- Fundamental reassessment of what work and working is
- Toxic workplace culture
- Poor quality leadership and lack of business Vision
- Lack of opportunities, meaningful pathways
- Pay/T&C’s – surprisingly further down the list than one might imagine
Here's the kicker - one of the most cited reasons for looking to move on is how workers were treated by employers during the pandemic. For those businesses that either leant hard on their people or made furlough an out of sight/out of mind situation, there's some healing to be done.
41% of workers responding to a recent Microsoft survey reported that they're actively looking to leave their current role, many for a change in direction. 38% of employees responding to a Personio HR software survey claimed that they planned to leave within six months.
Hold onto your hats! A generational shift in the power-dynamics!
The supply/demand about face – especially pronounced in the hospitality, manufacturing and technical sectors is already manifesting itself with employers – the world over.
Industrial action, worker activism, walk outs and muted interest in anything resembling the pre-Covid realties – is likely to be a feature of employee/employer relations for some time to come.
There’s a truism in life and business –
‘when its easy, it’s easy’.
When the proverbial 💩 starts to hit the fan – we get to see whether business leaders have the imaginations, creativity, fortitude, agility and ability to execute strategies that will put and keep them in control.
Chest beating, staring down and standoffs are unlikely to cut it. The Great Reset phenomenon needs to find its way into the boardroom – to be harnessed as the catalyst for letting go of all we thought we knew about the people/business symbiosis and get busy with reimagining everything in light of the new, Evolve or Die - Post-Covid landscape.