Businesses both locally and across the United States have seen frequent employee resignations since after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. What can we learn about this phenomenon from local workers who have taken part in the Great Resignation?
The Great Resignation is the name ascribed to the increase in voluntary separations, called quits by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from workers who left their organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We at the BBER examined the issue both nationally and locally. As part of our research on the impacts of the Great Resignation on local workers and employers, we interviewed three individuals who recently changed their jobs. We asked about their reasons for making these work changes and how COVID-19 impacted their decision to change jobs.
The Great Resignation phenomenon began in the spring of 2021, which was the onset of the easing of some COVID restrictions in some states. Greater media coverage of it began in September of 2021, after earlier releases of the jobs reports by the Bureau of Labor Statistics depicted elevated rates of quits.
Figure 1 below shows the total rate of quits in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021. The quits rate reflects the percentage of workers that quit their jobs in each month with spikes in the summer months and lower rates around the holiday season. In the years prior to 2021, the quits rate typically fluctuated between 1.5% and 2.5%. However, in 2021, the line maintains a similar shape to that of prior years but at an elevated level, ranging between 2.0% in February and 3.5% in August.
Figure 2 shows the rate of quits for employees in Minnesota. While Minnesota’s quit rate never reached the same level seen nationwide—it peaked at 3.2% in June—the state saw a faster rate of quits between May and August compared to the national averages. And like the nation, Minnesota’s 2021 rate was still consistently higher than it had been in previous years. This indicates that workers within the state were actively changing or leaving their jobs, like the trend seen nationally.
The Job Turnover and Labor Survey (JOLTS) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not conducted at the local level, so information on the number of individuals who have quit their jobs in the Duluth region specifically is not available. But to better understand how the Great Resignation has possibly impacted local workers, BBER Director Monica Haynes and Undergraduate Research Assistant Nana Kofi Austin interviewed three workers who have taken part in the Great Resignation and have quit their jobs for a new position in the past year. The individuals were asked about their current and previous jobs, their reasons for making these work changes, and how COVID-19 impacted their decision to change jobs.
Jordan van der Hagen, who worked as an architectural designer with Architectural Resources Inc. in Duluth prior to moving to Minneapolis, found a new opportunity that aligned perfectly with his professional and personal motivations. His new employer offered higher wages, a broader range of projects to work on, and a portfolio that van der Hagen had long since admired. van der Hagen also cited several quality-of-life factors as part of his reason for moving, including a lack of opportunities for young people in Duluth and more music, art, culture, and diversity in a large metro area like Minneapolis. COVID-19 indirectly impacted his decision to change positions, as some of the changes in office culture that resulted from the pandemic influenced what he wanted in a position. He now has the ability to work remotely or in-person, a perk that was not available at his previous job.
For Joyce Kyle, the Assistant to the Dean in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) at UMD, COVID-19 was a major factor in her job change. Prior to the pandemic, Kyle worked at Essentia Health as part of the marketing communications personnel. When the pandemic first hit, her position was eliminated. She then took a position as the secretary/receptionist at the Cloquet (Minnesota) High School. In this position, she was considered part-time, thus received no medical benefits. This was her primary reason for her eventual move to LSBE. “If [the school district] had provided the medical benefits, I’d still be there.”
Jason Fife, a mechanical engineer at Barr Engineering, moved to Duluth from New Prague, Minnesota. Like Kyle, the pandemic was the initial stimulus for Fife’s job change. When the pandemic first began, Kyle’s employer laid off several workers. So, Fife found a job in Owatonna, Minnesota, but the change in jobs made him reconsider his long-term goals for two reasons. First, his commute from his home in New Prague to his workplace in Owatonna was nearly an hour. Second, his children were all either in college or just about to graduate from high school. So, he and his wife began wondering “Is this where we want to live?” and “Are these the jobs we want long term?” Jason’s family often spent vacations in Duluth and along the North Shore and loved the city’s access to trails and outdoor activities. Compared with New Prague, the couple felt that Duluth would offer more options for recreation and cultural activities. Jason began to look for opportunities and found his current job as a mechanical engineer with Barr Engineering. Jason and his wife have been very happy with their decision to move, noting that his current 10-minute commute is a major perk.
Wages and benefits, quality of life measures, workplace flexibility, and the impact of COVID-19 emerged as consistent themes in our interviews. These themes mirror some of the most common reasons why U.S. workers left their jobs in 2021, according to a recent Pew Research survey. The survey found wages, opportunities for advancement, respect at work, childcare, workplace flexibility, benefits, and a desire to relocate as the topmost cited reasons for leaving a job. These findings and the feedback from our interviews may help area businesses consider whether they are providing workers with the opportunities and resources that the workers need to be successful and what they can do to improve talent retention overall.
Main image courtesy ciphr.com