The “Great Resignation” is well underway, as workers walk away from their jobs in unprecedented numbers during the COVID pandemic.
“About four-in-ten adults who quit a job last year (39%) say a reason was that they were working too many hours …”
Reasons why include low pay, a lack of opportunities for advancement, and feeling disrespected at their place of business, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
And apparently, the grass is greener. The survey also finds that most say their new job has better pay, more opportunities for advancement, and more work-life balance and flexibility, putting upward pressure on salaries and benefits for employers to compete.
“Majorities of workers who quit a job in 2021 say low pay (63%), no opportunities for advancement (63%), and feeling disrespected at work (57%) were reasons why they quit, according to the Feb. 7-13 survey, Pew writes. “At least a third say each of these were major reasons why they left.”
Roughly half say childcare issues were a reason they quit a job (48% among those with a child younger than 18 in the household), and a similar share point to a lack of flexibility to choose when they put in their hours (45%) or not having good benefits such as health insurance and paid time off (43%). A quarter says each of these was a major reason, the survey reports.
“About four-in-ten adults who quit a job last year (39%) say a reason was that they were working too many hours, while three-in-ten cite working too few hours. About a third (35%) cite wanting to relocate to a different area, while relatively few (18%) cite their employer requiring a COVID-19 vaccine as a reason.”
Coronavirus impact
Fully 31% said their reasons for quitting a job were related to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Those without a four-year college degree (34%) are more likely than those with a bachelor’s degree or more education (21%) to say the pandemic played a role in their decision,” Pew concluded. “For the most part, men and women offer similar reasons for having quit a job in the past year. But there are significant differences by educational attainment.”
SEE MORE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY HERE
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
