By
Leanna Seah
October 18, 2021
Updated
September 25, 2023
Source:ESB Professional/Shutterstock
Hear hear, the Great Resignation is here
And it won't be slowing down anytime soon. Employees are leaving their companies in record numbers and the figures only seem to be rising.
According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, the months of April to June 2021 saw 11.5 million employees quit their jobs.
The effects are also felt in Europe with 6% of the German workforce leaving their jobs due to COVID-19 related reasons. This is followed by the United Kingdom with 4.7%, the Netherlands with 2.9%, France with 2.3% and Belgium with 1.9%.
How did we get here?
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For 18 months, employees were faced with great uncertainty and the harrowing events that followed the pandemic forced many workers into a state of contemplation.
Workers questioned their values, they questioned the types of relationships they had with their companies and how they were treated by their employers during the pandemic.
Eventually, they decided that they wanted more.
While there are various reasons behind the rise in resignation rates, some of the most common ones include lack of job security, workplace culture and flexibility. Amidst of all this, the takeaway that stands out the most is that the pandemic was in many ways, a wakeup call.
Employees now feel like they can be in the driver’s seat of their career again and are seeking out companies and roles that utilise their skill sets in the ways that they want to. - Janette Marx, CEO of Airswift
Flexibility is leading the way as employees return to the workplace with a new set of expectations
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According to the EY’s Work Reimagined Survey, 54% of the 16,000 employees surveyed across 16 countries and 23 industries would prefer to have flexible working hours. Nine out of 10 employees want to be able to choose where and when they work. This is a massive game changer.
Employees have proven that not only can they be trusted to work independently and remotely, they can also thrive. Many report seeing improvements in their work-life balance and 48% of employees from the EY survey report seeing improvements to their organisation’s culture.
This renewed sense of value for flexibility and remote work means that more employees are beginning to see it as a necessity rather than a perk.
For businesses that plan on retaining and attracting employees now and in the future, they must implement this as part of their talent retention strategy.
Talent retention practices in a post-COVID world
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While flexibility is a core criterion for talent retention, it cannot stand alone. Many other factors such as revising benefits and mental health resources, access to training and development opportunities, practicing honest and empathetic communication, and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies must also be implemented in the modern workplace.
COVID-19 created a seismic shift in the way we approach work. In order to move forward, business leaders must adapt to these changes or risk losing out on valuable talent.
Our white paper, Re-shaping Talent Retention for the Energy Industry in a Post-COVID World take a thorough approach to identifying the many practices businesses can adopt to improve their talent retention results.
We also unpack the circumstances fueling employee resignations, the criteria for employee engagement and retention as well as the challenges faced by companies in the face of talent retention.
Click the button below to download your copy today and get access to these insights and much more.
