
Although labor shortages in the service industry might be the most visible, Vozza pointed out that tech and healthcare have actually seen the most people quit in the last few months, and burnout has been one of the driving reasons. As for the other reasons? While lack of childcare options and low wages are at the heart of many job vacancies, the other reasons people are quitting en masse are the same reasons people have always left their jobs: lack of flexibility and lack of opportunity—meaning, lack of work-life balance.
The pandemic has caused a lot of us to refocus and reevaluate our priorities, and the old adage, “You don’t quit a job, you quit a manager,” has never been more true. If managers want to hold onto their employees, they should listen closely to what they want, especially when it comes to remote work.
Well, they need to go beyond just listening and act upon what they’re hearing, making changes to their work environments to show that they not only are listening to their needs but understanding the meaning of them as well. Saying “we’re listening & we care” repeatedly really doesn’t mean anything if nothing changes.
Unfortunately for most management this will be really difficult to do because it means changing their own identity and beliefs. So instead of trying to “take control of things” all the more to show that they are competent and “in charge”, they actually need to start letting go of that control and power, taking leadership by redistributing that power to their people to create a large sense of collective leadership instead.