Employees are ready to quit — with or without a new job secured

Heads up, employers. Workers are prepared to resign — some even if they don’t have a new job lined up.

Known as “The Great Resignation,” a whopping 19 million employees quit their jobs just between March 2021 and July 2021. This is a seven-million increase compared to the same timeframe the year before.

Wellbeing company Limeade conducted a survey of 1,000 American workers who started a new job in 2021 to examine what exactly caused this mass exodus, and what employers can do to hang onto their people.

Burnout is No. 1 problem

So what were the top reasons for workers leaving their companies?

Burnout came out on top, with 40% citing that as the cause of their resignation. Thirty-seven percent were looking for better pay, and 34% of people left due to organizational changes at their companies. A lack of flexibility, discrimination and not feeling valued all tied at 20%.

Nineteen percent of people quit due to insufficient benefits, and 16% felt their company wasn’t supporting their well-being.

These concerns were so pressing that 28% of people resigned without having a new job lined up. This is particularly alarming to employers, because this means they could lose workers at a moment’s notice.

Flexibility needed

So how can employers hope to hang on to their employees? Increased flexibility is key, since 40% of workers changed jobs because the new one allowed them to work remotely.

Money also isn’t the end all be all. Twenty-nine percent of job changers saw an increase in pay, but 23% earned the same amount, and 13% actually took a pay cut.

Another big factor in employees switching jobs was better management (31%). It would be worth employers closely examining their managers’ leadership strategies and seeing how workers feel about them.

Limeade Chief Science Advisor Laura Hamill says companies have to start doing better for the sake of employees. Companies have to ask them what they need, and do everything they can to meet those needs.

“The companies that learn and grow from this feedback will succeed,” Hamill says.