Dr. David Childs, D.D., Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University 
Getty; Adam Maida / The Atlantic
Introduction
Have you noticed lately that when you go to many public places there seems to be a shortage of staffing (Not to mention a lack of product and materials, but that is for a different article). In terms of a shortage of staffing, when we go to our local grocery store to do shopping there are very few workers available to check out our items. Or when we go to a fast food restaurant the lines are unusually long. Further, when receiving or sending mail through the United States Postal Service, it seems that it has been taking longer than usual to receive or send packages or letters. This labor shortage is in many ways connected to the ongoing and relentless pandemic and its devastating impact on our economy. It has been a perfect storm. Workers in sectors such as the meat packing industry, the shipping industry and warehouses began to be sick from the pandemic which resulted in a shortage of workers. Further, when the world was in quarantine and people either lost their jobs or worked from home, they no longer accepted the fact that they needed to be on site daily to get work done or had to accept low wages for a thankless job. All in all, we are experiencing the global effects of people simply deciding not to come to work. Experts are calling this phenomenon the Great Resignation. Derek Thompson, in his October Atlantic article entitled “The Great Resignation Is Accelerating” states that “a lasting effect of this pandemic will be a revolution in worker expectation.”
Getty- Forbes.com
“The Great Resignation Is Accelerating”
Thompson offers more insight on this phenomenon in his article. He states “I first noticed that something weird was happening this past spring. In April, the number of workers who quit their job in a single month broke an all-time U.S. record. Economists called it the “Great Resignation.” But America’s quittin’ spirit was just getting started. In July, even more people left their job. In August, quitters set yet another record. That Great Resignation? It just keeps getting greater. “Quits,” as the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls them, are rising in almost every industry. For those in leisure and hospitality, especially, the workplace must feel like one giant revolving door. Nearly 7 percent of employees in the “accommodations and food services” sector left their job in August. That means one in 14 hotel clerks, restaurant servers, and barbacks said sayonara in a single month. Thanks to several pandemic-relief checks, a rent moratorium, and student-loan forgiveness, everybody, particularly if they are young and have a low income, has more freedom to quit jobs they hate and hop to something else… As I wrote in the spring, quitting is a concept typically associated with losers and loafers. But this level of quitting is really an expression of optimism that says, We can do better… 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. The Great Resignation is, literally, great. For workers, that is… Job openings are sky-high. Many positions are going unfilled for months. Meanwhile, supply chains are breaking down because of a hydra of bottlenecks. Running a company requires people and parts. With people quitting and parts missing, it must kinda suck to be a boss right now. (Oh, well!).”
Conclusion
Indeed this phenomenon is like nothing we have ever experienced in our lifetime. Often workers (Especially low wage employees) have had very little autonomy or control over their labor or conditions at the job. But for the first time they feel empowered to explore other options. If you want to read more on this topic you can read the rest of Thompson’s article. You can also read Thompson’s more recent article entitled Three Myths of the Great Resignation. Also please see other articles below about the Great Resignation.
Other articles on the Great Resignation
Great Resignation
What Quitters Understand About the Job Market
The Great Resignation: Why People Are Leaving Their Jobs In Growing Numbers
Why are so many Americans quitting their jobs?
From The Great Resignation To The Great Migration
The Great Resignation gets even greater
Quitting is just half the story: the truth behind the ‘Great Resignation’
Another 4.5 million workers quit in the 8th month of record exits, and it shows how the Great Resignation is here to stay
Great Resignation: The number of people quitting jobs hit an all-time high in November as openings stayed near record
Resignation nation: Record number of Americans quit their jobs before the holidays
Help Wanted: Where Are The Workers?
Low Pay, No Benefits, Rude Customers: Restaurant Workers Quit At Record Rate
As The Pandemic Recedes, Millions Of Workers Are Saying ‘I Quit’
I really liked this article and how it explained why there is so many jobs open and how they are not able to be filled. It’s sad how we now live in a world that seems so shorthanded at all moments. I have experienced this firsthand being a manager at a local restaurant and not being able to always have the staff or people still applying to work. There are so many reasons why they are not going back and its sad to see that people are not going back and working after the pandemic.
This article caught my eye because I am a worker at Chipotle and have experienced The Great Resignation happening around me. I have worked there for the past 2 1/2 years now, and just within this past year, we have accumulated a whole new crew. We have been through days where there were just 3 of us, when there should be at least 8. We tried our best to keep the store open, and give the customers what they wanted. It was a challenge- but we got through it, and I have learned so much from this experience.
I think this article had some good points. We have come such a long way from 10 days to flatten the curve. We are living in a time we have never seen before. Things seem to just be getting harder each week. Just when we think things are about to get better, we take a few steps back. I could not agree more “it would suck to be a boss right now.” Thats an understatement for a log of people. The bigger question to ask is when does it stop, and how can we fix it?
I’ve noticed many changes throughout the world that involves the great resignation. My favorite is when I go to the grocery store with a cart full of groceries and there is no one to check me out. I have to place all my items on the conveyor belt, scan, bag and put them back in my cart. There is never a check out line that is opened with an actual human worker. I like how you stated a quote from Thompson because it caught my attention when you stated, “worker expectation”. That is exactly what it is and will continue to be. People think that this is the new normal and they don’t need to work. So many things have changed already because of the lack of workers and it won’t go back. Technology has taken over human jobs. Like the grocery store cashier/bagger example that I mentioned above.
I have typically asked why everywhere seems to be shorthanded? When experiencing stores that are shorthanded, I have commonly wondered how they workers can afford to leave their places of employment. However, the article highlighted an important aspect of this change that occurred during the pandemic. Many workers experienced a leave from work. It made workers realize things they didn’t like about their current employment, and that they crave and deserve better. Ultimately, the pandemic fueled a ‘don’t settle for less’ realization.
I enjoyed reading this article. It seemed very current to what’s going on in the world and in my life. It was an easy read with a clear beginning middle and end. Had no idea that the pandemic is still having this long of a lasting effect and make me wonder how much longer its effect will last. Thank you for keeping it short and concise!
I enjoyed reading this article because it gave me some insight into what has been going on with the people quitting their jobs. I like that the article talked about how this has happened while we are in the pandemic. I know many people who have quit their jobs during the pandemic because they felt freer to quit and find better jobs. I also think that this shortage can also cause a lot of stress for essential workers because they are having to do multiple people’s jobs. Especially hospital workers. As more people come into the hospitals for covid there aren’t many people to help them because there are many people working.
I think the Great Resignation is the perfect term to use when it comes to describing the current shortage of workers. I like how the article explains the many different reasons for the shortage. Hopefully things can get back to normal soon.
I like how this article explains why there have been so many job openings and how it is affecting our economy. I also like how this article also explains why people are quitting their jobs and why there are so many job openings.
I liked how this article explained the job situation that happened throughout the pandemic, how the number of workers for jobs decreased at a relatively fast rate. Jobs during the pandemic were only the essential jobs that needed to be done, so that had a lot of people being laid off from work. Even then, a lot of essential workers worked online for their jobs and sometimes that was even a struggle, especially if certain jobs didn’t have you working with technology so much.