November 2021
AN INDEPENDENT REPORT FROM LYONSDOWN, DISTRIBUTED WITH THE GUARDIAN
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business-reporter.co.uk
Business Reporter UK
@biznessreporter
Shaping up, shifting out In an age of great upheaval and societal shift, it’s perhaps no surprise that people are upping sticks to find work that is better, different, or simply more meaningful. Nick Martindale looks at the phenomenon of the Great Resignation…
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S THE business world starts to tentatively look to a post-Covid future, attention is once again turning to ensuring organisations have the skills they need to compete. For many, it ’s not a pretty picture. Research undertaken on behalf of Personio by Opinium suggests 38 per cent of 2,002 employees from a range of industries, sectors and sizes across the UK and Ireland are looking to change roles in the next year, which could cost UK firms almost £17 billion in the next 12 months. A number of other studies back this up: Workhuman’s 2021 International Survey Report finds 46 per cent of UK employees plan to quit their jobs in the next year, compared with 27.5 per cent pre-pandemic and 38 per cent in other countries. A study by recruiter Randstad, meanwhile, which surveyed 6,000 workers, finds 69 per cent of employees are now feeling confident enough to move to a new job in the next two months, with only 16 per cent worried about finding a new role. The “Great Resignation”, as it has been termed, is alive and
46% The percentage of Uk employees who plan to quit their jobs in the next year Source: Workhuman
well, and it’s no surprise that 78 per cent of organisations cite skills shortages as one of the top three challenges facing their organisation in the near future, according to Cielo. There are a number of reasons behind this, with the impact of the pandemic perhaps the most obvious. “Many people are reassessing their priorities and aspirations,” says Liz Sebag‑Montefiore, director and co‑founder of HR firm 10Eighty. “The pandemic has changed some people’s mindsets, who now value their time more. People want more flexibility and happiness, and are reflecting on what work now means to them, how they are valued and how they want to spend their time going forward.” The desire to work from home and for greater flexibility in working hours and location are an obvious consequence of the pandemic and enforced remote working. Research by the Project Management Institute finds 35 per cent of workers now want to work from home exclusively, with 34 per cent looking for a hybrid working arrangement and 31
“AI and automation technologies were already ‘redefining’ job roles and the skills required in the workplace, but the sudden acceleration of digital transformation programmes has led to more jobs becoming automated over the past year”
per cent wanting to return to the office full-time. “Employees are not prepared to return to the same working lives they had before the pandemic, with lengthy commutes and time spent in the office,” says Ashwini Bakshi, PMI’s managing director of Europe & Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, flexibility is now more important for many workers than pay, according to research carried out by LogMeIn and Forrester, which finds 60 per cent of employers would be willing to take a pay cut for more flexibility and 83 per cent
say they would stay loyal to their current employer if they can retain the flexibility they have grown accustomed to. “Those that don’t offer the flexibility that employees are now used to may soon see a huge employee churn,” warns Bob Quinn, vice president at LogMeIn. “When humans are given choice and then it is taken away, it’s instinct to resist. The world has shifted, whether we like it or not, and employees have tasted freedom.” Flexibility isn’t the only tangible consequence of the pandemic. John Lees is author of How to Get a Job You Love, and has detected a greater desire from people to engage in what he terms “work with purpose”. “The social upheaval of the pandemic has made a lot of people examine and realign their values and reflect on what kind of work feels purposeful,” he says. “People are seeking work which gives them purpose at a deeper level, greater job satisfaction or the ability to ‘give back’.” Other factors are also at play, including the thorny issue of Brexit. “This has accelerated some of the underlying and