How Employers Can Fend Off the Great Resignation Within Their Business

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You may have heard about the Great Resignation, where an unprecedented amount of people are quitting their jobs. Because of this incident, employers are trying to find ways to attract and retain top talent in their businesses.

According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.2 million people quit their jobs in July 2022.

With this shocking yet unsurprising statistic, employers are wondering how they can fight these high turnover rates successfully. But to win this battle, employers need to understand how the Great Resignation happened in the first place.

Why Are Employees Quitting Their Jobs?

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, countless workers have questioned what they truly want — from their employers, their daily experience at their jobs and career aspirations.

For many months, companies switched employees from working in the office to being at home. While families surrounded the employees during the lockdown, the pandemic made them reevaluate their priorities.

Meanwhile, how their employers responded to the pandemic led many employees to try something new.

This is a challenging time for many employers. Even though many businesses are quick to reestablish the status quo, most employees feel that employers haven’t learned any lessons from the Great Resignation.

And with it being costly to replace a single employee, knowing how to win back and retain talented workers could save you time and valuable resources.

Here are some things you can do to minimize turnover and prepare for post-pandemic employment.

1. Provide a Flexible Working Environment

Within the last couple of years, employees have found how important a good work-life balance is to them. According to one study, 60% of employees say they want to work from home. Other reports show that 97% of workers prefer to continue working remotely for good.

However, not every employee finds working from home suitable for them. Employers must consider offering a flexible role to accommodate different preferences. While some companies can’t provide work-from-home opportunities, they should look into other ways of being flexible.

For example, your organization could allow employees to work different schedules that best fit their lifestyles.

2. Instill a Better Work-Life Balance

An offset work-life balance affects many employees negatively. It can deteriorate their mental health from working long hours and being too stressed at their jobs.

When constant stress affects employees, they’re at risk for depression, anxiety and insomnia. And mental health can eventually take a toll on physical health, causing high blood pressure, heart disease, fatigue, low immunity and frequent headaches.

A job that leads to burnout puts an employer at risk for high turnover. The best way to combat this is to provide a comfortable work environment that boosts productivity and satisfaction.

Allow opportunities for your team to work as they please, build relationships with coworkers, be creative and work on passion projects. Happy workers are more committed to their employers and willing to stay at their jobs.

3. Be Empathetic

One of the best ways to attract and retain talent in the office is to have more empathy for others. Consider taking time to understand workers. Each employee has their own struggles and desires — and putting yourself in their shoes will lead to more success.

Some of the other ways you can become more empathetic include:

  • Listening to your employees. Pay attention to what they’re saying and reflect on the feelings they’ve expressed.
  • Cultivating compassion. Be transparent and aware of others’ emotions, thoughts and feelings. The words you use should provide encouragement and motivation.
  • Implement empathy training. Teach your employees empathy skills so that your company can build and adopt an empathetic culture.

Body language is integral to empathy and being attentive is the best way to show your sincerity.

4. Offer Career Growth Opportunities

With the pandemic forcing people to reevaluate their career decisions, many employees have taken a new career path or decided to pursue a dream job.

While you may not be able to retain every employee, you can take steps to ensure they have meaningful growth opportunities in the workplace.

For example, you could consider creating a platform that helps employees transition into new roles. Or, you could allow individuals to develop a plan for where they want to go.

Suppose a purpose-led platform isn’t an option. In that case, you could help ensure employees know how to learn about open roles in your organization. Providing learning resources can also help them to develop their skill set. That way, they can move in their career when going in a new direction.

5. Support Financial Wealth

Money still plays a key role in worker satisfaction. However, it’s not only about being able to offer a competitive salary. Employers must consider a benefits package to cater to their financial goals.

Money is one of the major stress points for employees. And although companies can’t control what employees do financially, they can help them feel more secure.

One of the ways you can achieve this is by offering financial education and money management tools. Providing these services can help them budget better and feel less stressed.

Another way to help combat financial stress is by paying attention to the benefits of jobs. Consider analyzing what other companies offer in your industry and try to provide as much opportunity and variety as possible.

Be Proactive in the Great Resignation

The Great Resignation isn’t going away anytime soon. Many companies will continue to see people quitting over time. Therefore, sticking to the same approach will not improve employee retention.

Instead, it helps to find out what employees truly want and make changes to cater to their needs. By considering the key factors listed above, you can tweak your offerings and continue to retain top talent long term.

Eleanor Hecks is the founder and managing editor of Designerly Magazine. She’s also a web design consultant with a focus on customer experience and user interface. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dogs, Bear and Lucy. Connect with her about marketing, design and/or tea on LinkedIn.