The Great Resignation
1 April 2022
Michal Gil- Peretz
For the past couple of years, and throughout the entire Covid19 era, we’ve been hearing of “The Great Resignation.” It has been described as a “worldwide tsunami of resignations.” This phenomenon includes workers quitting their job, sometimes on short notice, workers not returning after leave, quarantine, illness, or all three. It also includes workers who decide to make a substantial career shift. Due to these workers and others, organizations are facing some complex challenges.
What or who is behind the Great Resignation?
During the pandemic, many workers found themselves working from home while taking care of their young children, who were at home due to lockdowns and quarantines. Then, several things happened simultaneously. On the one hand, there was time to think of our interests with fewer distractions. Parents also suddenly understood that their children understood them better. As paradoxical as it might seem, we suddenly had more free time dedicated to sports, cooking, and other hobbies that were pushed aside until the pandemic came alone. These all led many workers to consider a career change seriously. Pre-Covid19, work was perceived as a significant component of their lives, yet their attitude towards their job and career changed considerably during the pandemic. This phenomenon is not exclusive to any field of profession and is apparent in various areas.
But did this all happen just because of Covid? It probably only served as a significant catalyst. The change is perhaps the result of the following issues combined:
The times are changing. Workers used to stay at the same workplace for an entire career, fearing unemployment. The younger generation does not share this fear and is willing to resign even when another job is nowhere to be seen.
Businesses haven’t been training workers since they have been experiencing decades of constant growth and therefore have relied on the market.
Of course, the Coronavirus led to an unprecedented global crisis, which led millions of workers to reconsider their lives and careers, pondering whether work is satisfying them.
Resignation as a common phenomenon is surprising since we would expect people to seek stability in times of uncertainty. In reality, the exact opposite occurred. Covid19 shook our world, specifically our perception of work as an integral part of our identity as human beings. It raised many questions in general and directly affected our expectations from the workplace.
What does this have to do with Knowledge Management?
The name of the game is knowledge retention. Now, more than ever before, organizations need to retain the knowledge of their workers to enable their business to go on even when experiencing constant waves of resignation. Encourage a culture of regular knowledge documentation via templates, software, videos, podcasts, or any other technology. Make sure to place the products accessible to anyone who might need them.
Another keyword is sharing. Nowadays, even traditional branches such as banking have realized that they must allow workers to work remotely, making knowledge sharing the new buzzword. Teams collaborating while sitting physically distant, shared work environments for project management, and task managing technological platforms are only some solutions that allow us to continue working. These solutions are all vital in our ever-changing world.
References:
Who Is Driving the Great Resignation?
Why We Think Internal Knowledge Management Will be Critical in 2022, as per Gartner
2022 Planning Guide for Collaboration and End-User Technologies