4,252,000 Quit in January 2022. Winning in the Employee World!
4,252,000. That’s the number of employees who quit in January 2022 according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Have you felt the impact of employee resignations and challenges over the past 2 years? They are calling this period the Great Resignation and there are reasons for that but luckily there are things you can do to improve your chances of retaining talent.
Let’s consider a few indicators that share perhaps an encouraging picture of the future.
The number of “Quits” nationally declined in December 2021 and January 2022: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics JOLTS report (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary), the number of “quits” decreased by 2.8% in January. However, there was an uptick again in February 2022.
Over 70% of employees who sought new employment say they regret quitting.
Seven out of ten workers — about 72% — admitted that they were surprised to learn that their new roles or companies were different from what they were led to believe during the interview process, according to the survey of more than 2,500 millennial and Gen Z job seekers conducted by The Muse.
As a result, it is possible that more people are quitting rather than sticking it out. About 1 in 5 job seekers even admitted they would quit within a month if the new role was not as expected, and 41% say they would give it between two and six months.
Just under half of job seekers — 48% — would actually try to get their old job back, according to the data.
What does that tell you as an employer?
There is an opportunity!
1. Be honest in your assessment in the role up front.
2. Select the right candidates.
3. Be intentional in their employee experience especially in the first 90 days.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce conducted a study and found these strategies as effective retention options for all organizations but especially small businesses.
• Transparency and good communication.
• A healthy work environment.
• 57% of employees said they would quit if they felt disrespected (Pew Research).
• 45% said they would quit because there wasn’t enough flexibility to choose their hours.
• Conduct annual performance reviews, people like to know how they are doing.
• Provide growth opportunities. Help people to pursue their passions and grow. Hopefully with your business but if they need to leave but you gave them the support they needed to grow, they will share with others that you are a great employer.
• Recognize good work. There are a lot of ways to do this but most importantly, it should be tailored to what’s important to your employee and unique to your business.