The Great Resignation – What Do Employees Really Want?

It's no secret that the COVID-19 crisis has changed how organizations operate, and professionals' work. It led to the adoption of a plethora of new tools and added to the responsibilities shouldered by employees. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics report, around 20.2 million workers quit their jobs between May and September 2021. This has led to the unfortunate event of The Great Resignation.

During The Great Resignation, employees around the world are quitting their existing jobs and switching to companies that provide them with better opportunities. Although it is impossible to pinpoint a single reason behind this issue, the COVID-19 crisis has played a significant role in making employees quit their jobs.

What Is The Reason Behind The Great Resignation?

Here are some of the significant reasons that are driving The Great Resignation: 

1. Immense Work Pressure Leading To Burnout
   
   During the pandemic crisis, companies had to let some of their employees go to cut their costs and stay afloat in the industry. This increased the work pressure on the existing employees as companies were not able to hire new talent. In the wake of a global pandemic, employees across all significant industries found themselves overburdened with work that stretched their work hours. Over time, this led to an eventual burnout as professionals found it difficult to deal with the pandemic along with tremendous work pressure.
   
   
2. Refusal From Quitting Remote Work
   
   Despite initial hiccups, employees around the world got used to working remotely as it provided them with more outstanding work flexibility. Now that the crisis has subsided and organizations are asking employees to get back to working on-premise, not every employee is willing to do so. Realizing the perks of working remotely without affecting their work, employees prefer switching to a new organization instead of getting back to the conventional mode of operation.
   
   
3. Availability Of Better Opportunities
   
   In the post-pandemic world, companies around the world are offering new and lucrative opportunities to suitable candidates. If the companies they work for do not provide them with growth opportunities, employees tend to switch to different organizations. This further adds to the issue caused by The Great Resignation.
   
   

Dealing With The Great Resignation – What Do Employees Really Want?

In order to prepare for and survive The Great Resignation, it is crucial to understand the inherent needs of your employees and cater to them. When your employees are happy and satisfied with working for you, they want to stick around for long. 

Here are some of the most effective ways of dealing with The Great Resignation: 

1. Do Not Enforce On-premise Work
   
   Looking at employees around the world feeling comfortable working remotely, it is never advisable to impose on-premise work. Set up a hybrid workplace if you want the best of both worlds. Here, you can provide your employees with a choice to work remotely or on-premise as per their requirements.
   
   In the post-pandemic world, employees are looking for more freedom and flexibility while working. Always make sure that your management does not make your workers come to work against their will unless there is no alternative. The COVID-19 crisis has made us realize the importance of working remotely without affecting the goings-on of an organization. Providing your employees with work flexibility is bound to help you retain valuable talent within your organization.
   
   
2. Provide Streamlined Employee Support
   
   Lack of adequate employee support is one of the significant reasons behind The Great Resignation. In the age of digitization, you can no longer rely on the traditional service desks to offer streamlined support to your employees. As a solution, it is advisable to implement modern service desks driven by technologies like AI and machine learning. These automated platforms allow you to understand the context of the issues encountered by your employees and provide them with personalized support. The AI-driven service desks also reduce excessive dependency on support agents by allowing your employees to interact with AI chatbots. This way, your employees can get their issues resolved within a few seconds.
   
   Modern employee service desks also automate the ticketing processes to save your employees from making manual efforts for creating support tickets. Right from personalized support to seamless process automation, a single platform can be used for providing holistic support to your employees. Streamlined support leads to increased employee engagement, making your team members want to stay associated with your organization for a longer period.
   
   
3. Prioritize The Mental Health Of Your Employees
   
   Two years of the pandemic have had a significant impact on professionals worldwide. From losing their jobs to their loved ones to COVID, people have gone through a fairly rough patch during the pandemic. Keeping this in mind, always prioritize the mental health of your employees. Encourage a free flow of communication within your organization, allowing your employees to discuss their professional and personal issues with their peers and the management. Organize therapy and counselling sessions to help your workers deal with stress, anxiety, and depression. Keep track of the mental well-being of your employees and encourage them to be honest about the same.
   
   Ensure that your employees are not overburdened with tasks that stretch their work hours. Especially in the case of remote employees, make sure that they do not find themselves sacrificing their personal lives for work.
   
   Read More: Why prioritizing employee mental health is crucial in 2022?
   
   
   
   
4. Revise Your Onboarding Strategy
   
   If you fail to onboard your employees well, they are likely to switch to a different organization, adding to the ill-effects of The Great Resignation. Compared to the older employees, it is easy for new hires to quit their jobs as they haven’t established a stronger bond with the company.
   
   In order to prevent your employees from resigning in the post-pandemic world, it is crucial to revise your onboarding strategy. With the increasing relevance of hybrid workplaces, the conventional onboarding processes are no longer relevant. Focus on virtual and automated onboarding plans to cater to the new employees in the best way possible.
   
   

Conclusion

It’s no secret that Great Resignation is causing several organizations across the world to lose their valuable employees. These were critical aspects to keep in mind if you are willing to retain valuable talent within your company.