Beyond “The Great Resignation” to “The Great Shuffle”

The recent trend isn’t about quitting for quitting’s sake. It’s about finding better balance and feeling empowered in the workplace. Here are six ways for leaders to provide both for their employees.

Whether you call it “The Big Quit” or “The Great Resignation,” people aren’t quitting the workforce. They are leaving organizations that no longer meet their expectations. They are leaving you. Why? Because they now realize they can. It’s why I prefer to call this period “The Great Shuffle,” evidenced — in part — by the recent uptick in job growth.

The pandemic proved to be an opportunity for qualified, talented people to determine how, if, and when they want to be found. Many of these people want to be in the driver's seat as they shuffle from one life-work or work-life experience to another. They are more selective about the work they want to do and for whom they want to do the work. The reality is, you can’t attract and retain employees who aren’t in the market for what you have to offer — especially if you’re not listening to what they’re telling you they want. None of this should come as a surprise if we look back at the warning signs. In the 2018 Harvard Business Review article, “Why People Really Quit Their Jobs,” researchers argued: “If you want to keep your people — especially your stars — it’s time to pay more attention to how you design their work.” They went on to add: “People leave jobs, and it’s up to managers to design jobs that are too good to leave.” That outcome falls under the known-unknown classification of risk. In other words, we knew a risk existed, but what we didn’t know was the probability or impact it would have on our workforce.

Fast-forward to January 2022. CBS’s 60 Minutes aired a segment on “The Big Quit,” which consisted of multiple interviews. One, in particular, featured a wife and parent of a young child who quit her marketing job in 2021 without an offer in hand. “I hit a wall, and I was done,” she said. After connecting with the staffing company, Worxbee, and working for three different bosses, she commented that she now has the ability to “design her own work life.” That desire isn’t new. After two challenging years of pivoting priorities and work modalities, many employees no longer want to do business as usual. And who can blame them? You asked your employees to fulfill your orders and meet your business and customer needs while juggling future employment uncertainty, school and daycare closures, health scares, the death of loved ones, and more. They’re now asking you to step back, assess what is still necessary from a workload standpoint, and see and treat them as human beings.

In organizations where this isn’t happening, employees feel empowered by quitting. A study released in January reported that “six in 10 millennials and Gen Xers (59%) especially believe leaving their jobs was the best decision they’ve made.” It goes on to add that the most common reasons for quitting included better pay, better work/life balance, and better working conditions.

Since COVID-19 began, one commissioned research study after another continues to inform us that some people are no longer waiting to retire to live, nor are they living to work. Instead, regardless of age, some are removing their golden handcuffs, hitching an Airstream to their vehicle, and traversing the countryside while truly embracing the concept of remote work. Meanwhile, others who are less adventuresome due to family obligations or simply no desire for that lifestyle are reversing the script on employers. Meaning, instead of being in the driver’s seat, employers are now passengers, hoping that potential employees will choose a spot and park themselves in their company for a while.

There is a shared belief among many that individuals who fall under the category of “The Great Shuffle” will deplete their savings, cash in their 401k, and be forced to return to the traditional workforce. Don’t count on it. What you’re experiencing is not a workforce fad. It’s the unintended consequences of the known-unknown risk, which turned out to be a desire for more intentional efforts toward balancing life and work.

There’s no stopping the shuffle now, but you can regain control over the impact it has on your organization. If you want to keep your businesses operating effectively and efficiently — even with human capital deficits — you need to meet your current employees where they are by doing the following:

1. Acknowledge your current employees and their value to your organization rather than mourning the employees who chose to leave. These are members who stuck with you during the pandemic, often taking on more work and struggling to balance working from home to keep your company moving forward. They were there for you. Be there for them.

2. Accept that what they’re saying is true and that others may decide to get off your “bus,” get on another company’s bus, or build their bus instead if you’re unwilling or unable to comply.

3. Act responsibly by using different methods to conduct an employee assessment of your organization’s culture. Anonymous surveys are one option, as are bringing in a third party to conduct interviews and focus groups to determine your organization’s most significant risk vulnerabilities.

4. Engage employees in coaching conversations to identify opportunities for them to “shuffle” within your organization. If a promotion is not feasible, a lateral move with opportunities to develop or advance later, for example, is one way to address the need/desire to leave proactively.

5. Design a culture of empowerment and make your employees a crucial part of what you do. If this is not your current culture, pivot and see it as an opportunity for you and your leadership team to assess what work is necessary and what is merely being done because it always has been. Your employees will feel more effective by planning strategic adjustments in culture and priorities with short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals based on clear metrics.

6. Remember to communicate what’s going on. Even when you don’t think there’s anything to share, your team wants — and needs — to hear from you. And a one-time email is not going to cut it.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all model that you can deploy. Monitor and review your strategies and pivot quickly and accordingly. You’re showing your employees that you respect them by doing this work. And doing so is no longer a nicety. It’s an imperative.

Remember, though, that you must follow through to the end once you open the door to ask your employees to be part of the process. Otherwise, it’s an empty gesture and will cause more harm — and cost — to you and your organization. Words alone are soft. Put action behind your words.

After you feel you have done all you can do and an employee still opts to shuffle out of your organization, remember the sage advice from one of my former employees: “Bless and release.”