Since 2021, the economy has been in a fragile situation when it comes to job vacancies. Known as the Great Resignation, waves of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs dominated employer concerns and supply chain issues. In 2023, while many employers have found strategies or adjusted to this challenge, looming threats of new waves of resignations are still a serious concern. 

In this issue of the Pulse, we take a look at the predictions for 2023’s resignations.  

Starting out the year on a low.  

2022 ended out on a rough note in terms of job vacancies. According to CNBC, “almost 4.2 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November, marking the 18th straight month of record-breaking quits in the U.S.” 

While December and January haven’t been as tumultuous, they’ve certainly given cause for concern. A December study by LinkedIn and CensusWide found 61% of workers in the United States are considering leaving their jobs in 2023. 

The news outlet also predicted that more plan on quitting soon – with younger Millennials (26-41) and Generation Z (18-25) workers leading the wave of resignations. That number increases the younger the worker demographic, with the following percentages per generation:  

• 72% of Gen Z’ers (ages 18-25  
• 66% of Millennials (ages 26-41) 
• 55% of Gen X’ers (ages 42-57) 
• 30% of Baby Boomers (ages 58-76) 

Recession worries are not a concern.  

You might expect that during this limbo period where the threat of recession lurks around every corner, workers might be less inclined to throw away a sure thing. However, experts predict that workers will continue to leave jobs at just as high rates as the past two years.  

One Indeed study found that, of workers who “had switched jobs at least twice since the start of the pandemic, 92% said the pandemic made them feel life is too short to stay in a job they weren’t passionate about.” 

Short term economic crisis may not be enough to combat a larger existential crisis that many who lived through COVID-19 are now facing.  

Employers might see a significant financial loss. 

As a company, if you’ve already survived a few waves of the Great Resignation, you know how costly turnover can be. As Forbes explains: 

“Onboarding does not come cheap when you calculate actual training time of the trainer and the trainee, the lost or lessened productivity out of both positions, recruiting and hiring costs, and so on. Some estimates of total costs suggest that for skilled tech workers or middle management positions, those costs could reach 50% of annual income. If a great resignation causes that job to open once, that’s a severe enough hit. Twice? A catastrophe.” 

However, remaining short-staffed isn’t an option, either. Staffing shortages cost businesses by placing undue stress on remaining workers, creating expenses in the following ways 

• Overtime wages 
• Further turnover 
• Poor performance 
• More workplace accidents 
• Lost business opportunities 

Employee retention is now more important than ever.  

With resignations on the forefront of many workers’ minds, businesses need to evaluate what they’re doing to promote employee retention. If you’re an employer reviewing your own situation, you can read our recommendations, here.  

In conclusion… 

With over half the workforce contemplating quitting in 2023, your business can’t afford to be dismissive of another potential wave of the Great Resignation.