These have been some of the buzzwords during this two-year pandemic! The Great Resignation can almost be compared to The Great Trek in 1835 – 1840 or in Afrikaans “Die Groot Trek” which saw around 15 000 farmers from the Cape Colony moving (by ox wagon) in search of greener pastures as they weren’t happy with certain British Government policies.
Fast forward 180 years. Covid-19 reaches those same shores.
Let’s take a moment to get our heads around what The Great Resignation is globally and then look at what it means for South Africa.
Millions of journalists and business leaders around the world have adopted the phrase The Great Resignation, literally overnight, given the effects of Covid-19.
Anthony Klotz, the research “pioneer” in this movement, has been studying the ways in which employees resign from their jobs. But more importantly how business leaders respond to this and manage this “great trek”.
In November 2021 a record 4.5million US workers left their jobs. This brought the 12-month total to 68.7million. Klotz was heard saying “It still seems surreal”, in response to the fact that there are more than 232million references to the term on various sites, even on dictionary.com.
The Great Resignation has been a benefit to employees searching for better working conditions and also better remuneration. Certain businesses who are bouncing back from Covid-19, also offering more appealing work-from-home options, have almost made it easier for employees to leave unhappy environments looking for better working opportunities, higher pay and more respect from leaders.
South Africa, although a beat behind, has seen that the newfound freedom of Flexi schedules has also contributed to the ditching of jobs, however, in South Africa this has been seen particularly amongst Millennials and Gen Z’s.
As recruiters during this time, we have found huge challenges particularly in the Digital / Tech spaces, because you can now literally work from anywhere in the world. With the weak rand against the dollar, pound and euro, why wouldn’t you want to work for a company from the comfort of your home in South Africa while earning foreign currency? All you need is your brain, a laptop and decent connectivity.
The rumblings are that The Great Resignation will continue to move through our country, even given the high unemployment rate. What are we going to do about this? The answer lies with business leaders and owners!