Why "The Great Resignation?" The Top 10 reasons why employees are quitting at record levels. Nearly 3% of the workforce quit their jobs in October. That's over 4 million resignation letters. And it is just shy of the record set the month before. Here are the top 10 contributing reasons and 3 factors that I believe are negligible… 1. Horrible Bosses - 70% of workers who voluntarily resign don't quit their job... they quit their boss. Here was a comment from the CEO of SHRM Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., “People don't leave jobs, they leave bad managers and bad cultures. The pandemic has shown many of us what truly matters, and what truly matters is PEOPLE. Employees want to feel valued and appreciated. They want to feel like they belong. And it's time for workplace leaders to step up.” 2. Lack of freedom - Many workers have been remote over the last two years. They've gotten used to work-from-home. Namely less stress and greater flexibility. Now many are being mandated to go back to the office. 3. Friends - According to Gallup, “Those who [have a best friend at work] are seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs." The pandemic has weakened work relationships. 4. Peer Pressure - You can't discount the "knock-on" effect of job-hopping. All of a sudden you start seeing coworkers or friends quitting in droves. You begin to question it yourself. 5. Generational - Millennials and GenZ are now the vast majority of workers. They don't see work the same way as previous generations. Job hopping isn't a black mark any longer. 6. Mo' Money - In the words of Ray DuBeau Jr., "Money is the conduit that allows people to live their lives. Companies and industries that are offering above-market rates aren't experiencing the great resignation." 7. Start-Up Boom - Americans started 4.3 million businesses last year, a 24% increase from the year before and by far the most in the 15 years that the government has kept track. Applications are on a pace to be even higher this year. 8. Childcare - lack of it has forced workers, particularly women, from reentering the workforce. 9. Upskilling - According to Lon Graham, “During the pandemic, a lot of people enrolled in online classes, online training, and other skill-building activities. The one's who did are now worth more to the marketplace and are leaving current jobs for the jobs they qualified themselves to get.” 10. Purpose - According to Margarita Andryushenko, “If an employee doesn’t feel like they’re making a difference or if the work they are doing actually matters, that’s a big deal-breaker right there. People want to feel connected and important to the work they’re doing.” ... and 3 reasons that aren't valid in my view: Vaccine Mandates, Handouts, and Gig Work. What other factors are contributing? Please share in the comments.

1. TOP 10 REASONS WHY EMPLOYEES
ARE QUITTING AT RECORD LEVELS
BY: STAN PHELPS, CSP
#the1299
Photo Credits: Pixabay and StoryBlocks
WHYTHE
GREAT
RESIGNATION?

2. Nearly 3% of the workforce quit their jobs
in October. That's over 4 million
resignation letters. And it is just shy of the
record set the month before.
Why? Let’s look at 10 contributing factors…
RECORD
QUITTING

3. HORRIBLE
BOSSES
1
70 percent of workers who
voluntarily resign don't quit their
job... they quit their boss.
“People don't leave jobs, they
leave bad managers and bad
cultures. The pandemic has shown
many of us what truly matters, and
what truly matters is PEOPLE.
Employees want to feel valued and
appreciated. They want to feel like
they belong. And it's time for
workplace leaders to step up.”
- Johnny C. Taylor Jr. CEO SHRM

4. LACKOF
FREEDOM
2
Many workers have been
remote over the last two
years. They've gotten used
t o w o r k - f r o m - h o m e .
Namely less stress and
greater flexibility. Now
many are being mandated
to go back to the office
either part or full-time.
Many are not "having it" as
the Brits would say.

5. FRIENDS
3
According to Gallup, “Those
who [have a best friend at
work] are seven times as
likely to be engaged in their
jobs, are better at engaging
customers, produce higher
quality work, and have
higher well-being.”
I dare to say they'd be less
likely to quit as well. The key
is [at work]. I think the
pandemic has weakened
those relationships. Less
engagement translates to
more apt to quit.

6. PEERPRESSURE
4
You can't discount the "knock-on"
effect of job-hopping. All of a
s u d d e n y o u s t a r t s e e i n g
coworkers or friends quitting in
droves. You begin to question it
yourself.
“Job openings and quits have
remained elevated in recent
months, showing both that jobs
are plentiful and also that people
have the confidence to quit their
jobs, knowing they will be able to
find new ones.”
- Peterson Institute for International Economics

7. GENERATIONAL
5
Millennials and GenZ are
now the vast majority of
workers. They don't see work
the same way as previous
generations. Nor are they
defined by it. Job hopping
isn't a black mark any longer.

8. MONEY
6
“At the most fundamental
level, money is what
people expect from their
w o r k . M o n e y i s t h e
conduit that allows people
t o l i v e t h e i r l i v e s .
Companies and industries
that are offering above-
m a r ke t r a t e s a r e n ' t
experiencing the "great
resignation" to the same
degree as industries like
hospitality and retail, and
it's no mystery why.”
- Ray DuBeau Jr.
“Be careful.
People who care
primarily about
money… can
easily be bought.”

9. START-UP
BOOM
7
Americans filed paperwork
t o s t a r t 4 . 3 m i l l i o n
businesses last year,
according to data from the
Census Bureau, a 24
percent increase from the
year before and by far the
most in the decade and a
half that the government
has kept track.
Applications are on a pace
to be even higher this year.
“During the pandemic, MLMs, from
individual sellers to corporate
offices, have figured out how to
make the most of the moment.
They’ve used it as an opportunity
to recruit more sellers, taking
advantage of economic insecurity
and people’s desires to work from
home. People don’t need to sell
“belly to belly” — meaning in
person — anymore; they can just do
it through hours of talking to
faceless acquaintances and
strangers on Facebook Live and
Instagram.”
- VOX.com

10. CHILDCARE
8
“In an Indeed survey this
summer, one-third of those
looking for a job said they
wouldn’t want to start in
the next month, and a
significant share said they
were waiting for schools
to open. Among those
who were unemployed but
not urgently looking,
nearly one-fifth said care
responsibilities were the
reason.” - The New York Times

11. UPSKILLING
9
“A lot of people took
advantage of the opportunity
to increase market value and
marketability by ‘upskilling.’
During the pandemic, a lot of
people enrolled in on-line
classes, on-line training and
other skill building activities.
The one's who did are now
w o r t h m o r e t o t h e
marketplace and are leaving
current jobs for the jobs they
qualified themselves to get.”
- Lon Graham
“I think that this pause gave
us the perfect nudge to get
ourselves educated and
make a change. I know I was
one of them. I knew that I
needed to get into another
field that I could do remotely
fast. It turned out to be IT. I
wouldn't call it quitting. I
would call this a migration.”
- Ambur Fork

12. PURPOSE
10
“Finding purpose and
meaning in your work is
another one. If an employee
doesn’t feel like they’re
making a difference or if the
w o r k t h e y a r e d o i n g
actually matters, that’s a big
deal breaker right there.
P e o p l e w a n t t o f e e l
connected and important to
the work they’re doing.”
- Margarita A. Andryushchenko

13. THREEREASONSTHATAREN’TVALID
VACCINE
MANDATES
GIG
WORK
SOCIAL
HANDOUTS
5% of unvaccinated adults say
they would quit over vaccine
mandates. Wrong. Research
shows that very few actually
follow-through on the threat.
People are quitting to get
s o c i a l h a n d o u t s l i k e
unemployment. Wrong. The
current unemployment rate
is now at a 52 year low.
People are leaving their jobs
to do gig work. Wrong. The
amount of people doing gig
jobs has fell from 16% to 9%
during the pandemic.

14. OTHER
FACTORS?
What other factors are contributing to
quitting? Please share in the comments.
LAST WORD:
Friend and fellow speaker Jeff Nischwitz
doesn’t like to call this “The Great
Resignation.” He thinks we should call
it…
“The Great Reassessment.”
Jeff uses the metaphor of a snowglobe.
The magic only happens when you
shake it up. Smart companies will
leverage this time as an opportunity to
drive engagement and reinforce culture.

15. ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
STAN PHELPS, CSP
Stan Phelps is a masterful storyteller who quickly
connects with audiences. Over the last 10 years,
Stan has delivered keynotes and workshops for
Fortune 100 brands including IBM, Target, UPS,
Citi and more.
He is a Forbes Contributor, TEDx Speaker, IBM
Futurist, and author of the 10-color Goldfish Book
Series that includes “Green Goldfish 2.0 - 15
Ways to Drive Employee Engagement and
Reinforce Culture.”
Stan makes it his mission to exceed expectations
and inspire audiences in ways they just can’t help
but talk about — and won’t soon forget.
StanPhelpsSpeaks.com