The Great Resignation
Publications outside of the U.S. have just started mentioning it as a particular phenomenon specific to that country, but it's been discussed here for months already. The pandemic, and in particular the "work from home" (WFH) trend, is combining with Americans' cherished individualism to cause a wave of resignations, where workers who can afford it and work in a suitable job decide to become independent contractors, consultants, or "gig workers" and escape the constraints of salaried employment.
A chief economist and the chief personnel officer of Euler Hermes (a credit insurance company) will discuss some implications of this trend in a brief (half-hour) conference call on November 5 at noon EDT (16:00 UTC). Register here.
Given the company's focus and the short duration of the event, we don't expect a full coverage of the issues raised by this trend. We think that these are the key questions to consider:
- Humans are social animals. We shouldn't expect to be fully effective in a job that requires collaboration with others if we don't interact with them face to face at least some of the time.
- WFH requires technology and a suitable work area. Not everyone has those at their disposal. As a result, the "digital divide" will be widened rather than reduced.
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Personal knowledge management will become more important. While few companies are very good at enterprise knowledge management, individual workers are typically even worse at it.
- Will people who forgo corporate employment plan for their retirement correctly?
