The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that a record 4.4 million Americans, or about three percent of the entire workforce, quit their respective jobs in September. Texas A&M psychologist Anthony Klotz is credited with coining the term 鈥淭he Great Resignation鈥� to describe this conspicuous and perplexing labor shortage. In this Q&A, Lynch School of Education and Human Development Professor David Blustein, author of The Importance of Work in an Age of Uncertainty: The Eroding Work Experience in America, talks about why so many Americans are resigning, and how several million Americans who were employed prior to the pandemic are surviving without a paycheck.
David Blustein
It鈥檚 common to see a surge in resignations when the job market is tight and there are numerous open positions, but today鈥檚 situation seems remarkably different. What鈥檚 driving the numerous, trend-busting exits, in your opinion? 听
The Great Resignation is clearly a fast-moving and powerful trend, one that has surprised many experts, including myself. Like most macro-level phenomenon, the Great Resignation is likely due to a confluence of factors that has coalesced to create a transformation in how people engage in work. One of the most prominent factors driving Americans to quit their jobs is that the labor market is now characterized by competition for workers in many (but not all) fields. As such, people feel more confident in being able to find better jobs.
However, this particular phenomenon also has been shaped by the pandemic. In addition to many other stresses associated with work, people have had to face possible exposure to a deadly virus; in my view, this has been a game-changer in the world of work. Workers also are leaving jobs that do not pay well and do not offer decent work conditions. Facilitating this move toward greater worker self-determination is the increased level of savings that people have amassed (especially during the pandemic when it was difficult to spend money, aside from necessities) as well as the emergence of creative ways to downsize one鈥檚 expenses. For example, during the pandemic, people discovered that they could move in with family members or friends, which lowered expenses.
Pundits have credited 鈥減andemic epiphanies鈥� with motivating many workers to leave jobs for greener pastures. What do you think has been the impact of the pandemic on the job market?
The pandemic is likely the elephant in the Great Resignation room. While some of the people leaving their jobs are looking for better ones, others are considering early retirement or different lifestyles and priorities that do not include or that diminish the role of marketplace work. My students and I have been conducting research on the impact of the pandemic on work, which has revealed that many people are experiencing a sense of existential threat and precarity. The pandemic has stripped away the illusion of security that many people maintained, which may be evoking a 鈥淕reat Rethinking鈥� of the institution of work. Conversations about the meaning and impact of a highly work-oriented life have moved from the margins to the center, leading to a questioning of the contemporary enterprise of work. For many people in the U.S. and across the globe, work has often resulted in stress, tedium, health risks, interpersonal conflict, and disempowerment, particularly for people who have been marginalized. In fact, the role of poverty, racism, and other forms of social exclusion have been prominent in the work lives of far too many people. A rethinking of how our society engages in work, survival, and sustainability is needed as institutions and people seek to rebuild after the losses and disruption of the pandemic.
Are workers simply angling for a raise after decades of stagnant pay?
A key factor in the Great Resignation is that people are no longer willing to work in indecent conditions and for low wages. A particularly positive outcome of this period is the notable increase in pay for lower wage workers, which is clearly a plus. Due to decades of neglect of working people, this period could be auguring in a need