More people have quit their jobs in the last six months than at any time in US history. According to the Bureau of Labor Statics, “In September 2021, the number of quits increased 164,000 to a historic high of 4.4 million.” This has been dubbed The Great Resignation. Miick advised companies are having a lower rate of attrition, but even they are feeling a little of that pinch. This is clearly more than wage dissatisfaction.
So what is happening with workers? The pandemic has forced millions of people to reconsider what is important to them. Those who could work from home reassessed everything from the home itself to family structures and their relationship with the office. Those forced to continue to go to work with lagging Covid protocols to were, often met with the vitriol and frustration of a nation in a tailspin. Those whose jobs evaporated scrambled like never before.
Everyone saw the extremely wealthy get richer and richer while they struggled more than ever. That largess did not trickle down to workers, who were often risking their health and that of their families just by showing up. While labor may be a commodity, it is not like any other commodity. It consists of human beings, with lives, families, and things to worry about other than their employer’s bottom line. Businesses that can acknowledge and act on this are more likely to retain workers.
The pandemic was only an accelerator to changes that were already in play; #MeToo, Black Lives Matter. LGBQTIA equality and greater acknowledgement of indigenous people and their rich cultures were already a driving force. The pandemic brought those injustices into sharper focus. Women were losing jobs faster than men, often due to childcare considerations. Minorities were often left working lower-paying jobs that could not be done from home. The deadly virus hit the poor of all races much harder. By summer of 2020 this spilled out as protest in the streets. But that is only a symptom of change at a deeper level. It is the macro, large-scale version of what has been taking place in the personal realm.
Cultures of sexual or racial violence have become less socially acceptable. The Internet has made it harder for companies to hide predatory and racist actions, and made it more likely that they will be called out on bad behavior. Shaming people for how they identify, how they look, whom they love, and how they worship is less acceptable as well. Historically shame and guilt have been huge motivators for anyone who wasn’t in lock step with the dominant culture. It also kept many in that lock step, even when it meant denying their own experience, their own feelings and their own mental health.
The Internet has been a democratizing element for the last 20 years. It can be rife with misinformation, but it is also a place where people who have been socially or geographically isolated can find each other. It has been a place to share stories. It is a place to create community and solidarity. Knowing we are not alone makes difficult situations a little easier. This leads to empowerment. Which is translating into a more general unwillingness to be taken for granted and belittled. The promise of the Constitution’s “All men are created equal” is starting to include a lot more people and lot more genders. Being worthy as human beings includes being worthy of decent jobs, where we are treated well – no matter what we look like, who we love or how we worship.
Another shift in consciousness is that people are less willing to be defined by their jobs and their finances and more interested in being their authentic selves. Which means they are less willing to be shamed. This is true on the social/ interpersonal level as well as from institutions and employers. A workplace culture that is not inclusive is seen as and felt to be lacking in respect. The willingness to subvert the authentic self in exchange for just enough money to make the rent seems to be a losing proposition. For decades workers have been on the losing end of most economic gains.
As Derek Thompson wrote in the October 15, 2021 issue of The Atlantic, “You may have heard the story that in the golden age of American labor, 20th-century workers stayed in one job for 40 years and retired with a gold watch. But that is a total myth. The truth is people in the 1960s and ’70s quit their jobs more often than they have in the past 20 years, and the economy was better off for it. 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.” Click here to see the full article.
What does this mean for your business? As Rudy Miick explains, “It actually goes back to purpose at this deep level of self-worth. In visceral simplicity it is like people are saying, ‘I almost don’t care what the job is, the real purpose in the work is giving me self-worth and I’m bringing self-worth to the work and amazingly enough I am paid well for it. I’m seen, because of the culture, the social justice.’ What we do (at Miick) is build awake companies. An awake, mindful company can actually make the world a better place, and by the way make a ton of money at the same time.” It means that now, more than ever, it is essential to base your business in purpose and to enact in real time, on a daily basis, the values that support that purpose. Recognizing staff as more than employees, but human beings who contribute to the overall success of your business is an essential element of that success.
Author: Tasha Lowe-Newsome
