Dr. David Childs, D.D., Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University 
Getty; Adam Maida / The Atlantic
Introduction
Have you noticed lately that when you go to many public places there seems to be a shortage of staffing (Not to mention a lack of product and materials, but that is for a different article). In terms of a shortage of staffing, when we go to our local grocery store to do shopping there are very few workers available to check out our items. Or when we go to a fast food restaurant the lines are unusually long. Further, when receiving or sending mail through the United States Postal Service, it seems that it has been taking longer than usual to receive or send packages or letters. This labor shortage is in many ways connected to the ongoing and relentless pandemic and its devastating impact on our economy. It has been a perfect storm. Workers in sectors such as the meat packing industry, the shipping industry and warehouses began to be sick from the pandemic which resulted in a shortage of workers. Further, when the world was in quarantine and people either lost their jobs or worked from home, they no longer accepted the fact that they needed to be on site daily to get work done or had to accept low wages for a thankless job. All in all, we are experiencing the global effects of people simply deciding not to come to work. Experts are calling this phenomenon the Great Resignation. Derek Thompson, in his October Atlantic article entitled “The Great Resignation Is Accelerating” states that “a lasting effect of this pandemic will be a revolution in worker expectation.”
Getty- Forbes.com
“The Great Resignation Is Accelerating”
Thompson offers more insight on this phenomenon in his article. He states “I first noticed that something weird was happening this past spring. In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time U.S. record. Economists called it the “Great Resignation.” But America’s quittin’ spirit was just getting started. In July, even more people left their job. In August, quitters set yet another record. That Great Resignation? It just keeps getting greater. “Quits,” as the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls them, are rising in almost every industry. For those in leisure and hospitality, especially, the workplace must feel like one giant revolving door. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something else… As I wrote in the spring, quitting is a concept typically associated with losers and loafers. But this level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, We can do better… Since the 1980s, Americans have quit less, and many have clung to crappy jobs for fear that the safety net wouldn’t support them while they looked for a new one. But Americans seem to be done with sticking it out. And they’re being rewarded for their lack of patience: Wages for low-income workers are rising at their fastest rate since the Great Recession. The Great Resignation is, literally, great. For workers, that is… Job openings are sky-high. Many positions are going unfilled for months. Meanwhile, supply chains are breaking down because of a hydra of bottlenecks. Running a company requires people and parts. With people quitting and parts missing, it must kinda suck to be a boss right now. (Oh, well!).”
Conclusion
Indeed this phenomenon is like nothing we have ever experienced in our lifetime. Often workers (Especially low wage employees) have had very little autonomy or control over their labor or conditions at the job. But for the first time they feel empowered to explore other options. If you want to read more on this topic you can read the rest of Thompson’s article. You can also read Thompson’s more recent article entitled Three Myths of the Great Resignation. Also please see other articles below about the Great Resignation.
Other articles on the Great Resignation
Great Resignation
What Quitters Understand About the Job Market
The Great Resignation: Why People Are Leaving Their Jobs In Growing Numbers
Why are so many Americans quitting their jobs?
From The Great Resignation To The Great Migration
The Great Resignation gets even greater
Quitting is just half the story: the truth behind the ‘Great Resignation’
Another 4.5 million workers quit in the 8th month of record exits, and it shows how the Great Resignation is here to stay
Great Resignation: The number of people quitting jobs hit an all-time high in November as openings stayed near record
Resignation nation: Record number of Americans quit their jobs before the holidays
Help Wanted: Where Are The Workers?
Low Pay, No Benefits, Rude Customers: Restaurant Workers Quit At Record Rate
As The Pandemic Recedes, Millions Of Workers Are Saying ‘I Quit’
This article definitely caught my attention. It is hard to ignore the numerous signs posted on almost every business that say they are hiring. The pay for these jobs is even harder to ignore. I have noticed most places hiring at $15/hr in desperation of workers. In the summer of 2021 is when I really noticed a change. I worked at a summer camp that is normally staffed with anywhere between 50-60 members, but that summer we only had 35-40 on staff. However, this number was better than the 2020 summer where only 15 staff members returned. Since they were in need of so many workers, they hired at a high rate for the 2021 summer. The pay for workers who joined in 2021 was much higher than those who had previously been working there for years. Some staff members got frustrated with this and decided to leave the job. With lack of workers, people are not able to receive products and services they need. The pandemic has hurt many businesses and have affected the way people think about returning to jobs.
Working in a customer service, retail, food industry type environment can be brutal. Your role with the company can feel super underappreciated by customers and people that our higher up in the company. With the pandemic, it has only gotten worse. This time has very stressful on all, people tend to take their frustrations out on people that are just trying to do their jobs if things do not go their way. Workers in these positions feel under paid for the scrutiny that they are under and the lack of appreciation, with the Covid-19 relief that is being offered they are taking this as an opportunity to quit.
Working in a customer service, retail, food industry type environment can be brutal. Your role with the company can feel super underappreciated by customers and people that our higher up in the company. With the pandemic, it has only gotten worse. This time has very stressful on all, people tend to take their frustrations out on people that are just trying to do their jobs if things do not go their way. Workers in these positions feel under paid for the scrutiny that they are under and the lack of appreciation, with the Covid-19 relief that is being offered they are taking this as an opportunity to quit.
As someone who works at an understaffed job I think the word “Thankless” is a really great way to describe what is going on with some employment places. It is very relatable in my job, because it is childcare and due to the pandemic we have to change a lot of things and do a lot more work. We were open at the start of the pandemic because we had a pandemic license and we had to go through crazy extremes to make sure everyone was safe and we never saw any reward, if anything we were underappreciated more. I think people are leaving because they have more freedom and are better equipped to quit to leave with the extra money they received from the government.
I can completely understand everything listed in the article because I am going through it myself, as a manager of a fast-food restaurant times have been harder than they ever have been, I have been working harder than I have in a long time due to people quitting or just not applying, and I understand working in fast food is not the most appealing jobs, but it is so hard right now. Thank you for sharing.
We had a shortage of child card workers at a daycare I worked at. Yet, my director would enroll more and more students and put us over ratio. We have waiting lists and we are allow to deny students if we are over ratio. But for some reason (I’m sure it was for money), she would enroll more students and put every teacher over ratio even though we were already short staffed. It was very frustrating and I finally quit.
I’ve worked in this senior home since the beginning of the pandemic, and workers do come and go. Even some with newborns resign because they feel like they could make more from unemployment or even a fast food job. It is truly a sad world when a CNA gets paid less than a fast food worker. I still only make 8.50/hour at the senior home and 9.79/hour working for the school district. No wonder people are resigning!
When I saw the title, I immediately knew I wanted to read this one. I’ve noticed that everywhere is hiring right now and don’t understand where all the workers went. People during quarantine lost their jobs or went remote so they did not feel the need to physically go back into a workplace. With the relied checks and student-loan forgiveness, people don’t see the need to get a job. It is amazing to me the other affects the pandemic has had on the world.
I have noticed this shortage of workers. I was working at Kroger as a cashier for three years since 2019 and noticed the shortage of workers as the pandemic hit at the end of that year. That next year in 2020, I noticed how many people were quitting and a lot of times we were short staffed, especially during the second shift. I ended up being one of those who quit, but not because of government benefits, which I didn’t even receive, my parents did, I quit due to management problems and focusing more on school and better job opportunities based around education. I noticed in the span of those three years (2019- May 2021) how frustrating it was for my coworkers, especially the cashiers because we did not have many baggers, so we had to ring up all items and also bag everything. Normally, that wouldn’t be a bother, but the Kroger I worked at was the largest in NKY and we were busy around the clock, so doing two people’s jobs for an 8 hour shift to only make $11/hr. minus taxes and minus union dues, including wearing a mask for about 7 hours of those 8 hours is not ideal. This frustration was reflected in the customers, as well, as at times they would feel obligated to bag their own items and had to wait in long lines. As someone who had been an essential worker since the pandemic hit, I understand why workers would quit, because the situations that we were put in were not ideal and not part of the job description, like explained above. I could see how this could be reflected in other job positions and shows how monumental the “great resignation” is to the society and how people view those who are resigning.
Oh this was definitely a timely article to read. So many are upset and frustrated with this “Great Resignation”. It is a hard time for many. I personally feel all of the free money that had been given out to people with were without a job really sparked the interest of many to quit and just live off of the government. I read in the article that many felt it was because they could quit while they felt it was the perfect time although I feel we have a lot of lazy Americans right now. My daughter started her job at age 14 making $14.00 an hour which totally blew my mind! I couldn’t imagine making that much money at her age. Employers are willing to do whatever it takes to get people to work. What some do not realize that this means the cost of living is going to quickly rise.