The last few months, we’ve been hearing a lot about the Great Resignation. The Great Resignation, which began in 2021 in part as a reaction to the pandemic, saw millions of Americans quitting their jobs. Whether as a result of no access to childcare support or more remote work opportunities, employers have been struggling to retain many employees – especially working moms. Will this struggle come to an end in 2022?
The Great Resignation: A Constant Challenge For Employers
We can all agree that The Great Resignation will be among the top buzzwords of 2021. The phrase that was coined when the media started recognizing that millions of people were leaving the workforce entirely or changing jobs during the pandemic. It has proven to be an enormous challenge that employers have been struggling to overcome, even beyond 2021.
How did this dilemma come about for so many employers across the United States? Where did the Great Resignation of 2021 begin?
While people began leaving their jobs at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the trend really culminated in 2021. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 4.3 million American employees quit their jobs in August 2021, alone. That’s a staggering number which demonstrates that the Great Resignation has impacted just about every single industry.
Many experts believe the root of the Great Resignation was because the pandemic changed the way that employees view their lives and how their jobs tie into that. There seems to be a mixture of factors at play here that are driving so many to change their careers. Remote work, the pressures of childcare responsibilities, and location re-shuffling caused many to go soul-searching during the pandemic.
For working moms in particular, this meant leaving the workforce to focus on childcare and caregiving duties. For others, the pandemic opened up opportunities to explore different career options. This inevitably added to the numerous unforeseen challenges that employers took on as they navigated their business through the pandemic.
This challenge continues to impact many businesses leaving many to wonder: will the Great Resignation be a persistent issue for years to come?
The Latest Statistics: Is There Any End in Sight For Companies?
Recent statistics show that there is still a battle ahead before the Great Resignation of 2021 can be considered over for employers. Whether this will take months or years is hard to know.
The Great Resignation 2021 Statistics
According to a Fortune survey, CEOs are increasingly cognizent of how the Great Resignation will affect their business moving forward:
- 73% of CEOs believe that the labor shortage will disrupt their business for the next 12 months
- 51% of CEOs are finding that retaining talent is among their top struggles and concerns
- 35% of businesses have had to change their benefits package to prevent employee turnover
- 70% of CEOs believe that pandemic-related factors will continue to impact retention rates in 2022
- 80% of companies are open to offering increased work from home (WFH) flexibility to increase employee engagement and satisfaction
It is clear that employees are continuing to leave companies in record numbers; approximately 34.4 million are leaving their positions this year alone. Does this mean that this trend will continue for the year to come? There is no surefire way to accurately predict that answer right now, but there are steps that employers can take to boost retention levels.
Companies Fighting Employee Turnover: Real-Life Examples
As the Great Resignation weighs on the minds of employers across the U.S., it’s helpful to take a look at companies who have taken a head-on approach to rectifying employee turnover. The key to their success has been investing in the human aspect of work: adopting flexibility, acknowledging caregiving, and providing employees with choices.
Let’s take a look at real-life examples that companies are using to increase talent attraction and retention.
Patagonia
Patagonia is a company that has long been known for its shared passion to combat environmental issues. However, the stakeholders and leaders of this organization are equally as passionate about supporting its employees.
Family values are embedded in this company’s culture. All employees receive an extensive leave policy; mothers receive 16 weeks of leave, while fathers receive 12 weeks. Additionally, the company has been providing child care support to its employees since the 1980s.
This trend didn’t stop during the pandemic. The company ensured that employees were availing of their benefits program, had access to child care support, and were experiencing a healthy work-life balance.
Carewell
Carewell reacted to the Great Resignation by implementing solutions that would create a better work-life integration for its employees in a bid to combat employee turnover.
The company did this by switching to a fully remote model and normalizing child care responsibilities. Employees are provided with flexible working arrangements so that they can adequately manage their home and work lives in a way that suits them best.
Cleo
Cleo is committed to minimizing the longstanding gap in employer-led support for working parents. They work with many global names such as Pepsi and Salesforce. Within their own company, they practice what they preach and did this successfully before and throughout the Great Resignation 2021.
Cleo embraced the reality of being a working parent at every level of their company and reacted by providing support in various ways. It offered flexible work culture, access to support services such as Headspace and UrbanSitter, and flexible paid time off (PTO). This company encouraged its leaders to act as role models for employees by utilizing the benefits program and encouraging time off.
Many employers will find that employees – especially working parents – are weighing the benefits that are being offered by companies very closely right now. In the fight against attrition, companies must refocus their efforts on implementing holistic benefits that adequately support all employees’ needs.
Making It Work to Your Advantage: How Companies Can Retain High-Quality Talent in 2022
According to a McKinsey report, the pandemic changed the way that many people think about work. To attract and retain high-quality talent in 2022, your company needs to listen to the needs and wants of your employees.
In light of the Great Resignation 2021, these are the steps that all leaders should be undertaking when creating retention plans for their company:
Provide Child Care Benefits that are Reflective of Working Parents Needs
The Great Resignation became an issue for employers because working parents realized that their benefits package did not meet the pressure of their new reality. While these benefits may have been well-intentioned, they were either incomplete or a one-size-fits-all solution.
Companies should be offering benefits that fully encapsulate what it means to be a working parent – for existing and soon-to-be parents. That’s why benefit plans that feature robust employer-sponsored child care solutions, great family leave policies, and flexible work arrangements are highly sought after.
Normalize Caregiving Responsibilities
To attract talent after the Great Resignation of 2021, employers should normalize caregiving responsibilities. It’s no surprise that just about everyone you know had at least a few Zoom meetings in the last two years featuring surprise guests in the form of newborn babies or toddlers.
Many employees are also family members and need child care in order to work. That’s why normalizing caregiving will be a necessity to attracting and retaining high-quality talent.
Focus on Work-Life Integration
Leaders must now focus on building an environment that fosters work-life integration for employees. The term ‘work-life balance’ has become outdated and in fact, possibly never really existed. Employers must deliberately support work-life integration and aknowledge that for most employees, it’s impossible to seperate the two entities.
To support better work-life integration, companies should implement systems to help employees manage each of their personal and professional responsibilities in a seamless way. Allow employees to block time out of their day to help their kids with homework or attend a doctor’s appointment. Encourage employees to practice self-care by going for a walk or having a coffee break to decrease burnout levels.
To attract talent, companies must show that they are supportive of their employee as professionals and individuals. This is what the modern-day employee is looking for.
Lead by Example: From the C-Suite Down
Lastly, employees value leaders that go beyond just encouraging their staff to use benefits, but actually openly use benefits themselves. When C-suite leaders actively participate in benefit programs and support systems, this shows employees that these resources are important.
Leaders shouldn’t hesitate to take family or vacation leave when they need it. If your company offers a subscription to a wellness program, leaders should sign up and share their experience with your staff. Practicing what you preach shows new and existing employees that you embody your company values and culture.
How Vivvi Helps Employers Retain Working Parents
At Vivvi, we’ve been working with employers to support working parents where they are and when they need it most. Our flexible child care and early learning platform gives your employees the resources they need to achieve a healthy work-life integration.
Our in-home, on-campus, and on-site learning programs give parents peace of mind knowing that their child is being looked after. This improves their productivity and engagement levels. Through our employer-sponsored child care solutions, your company can focus on what matters: creating a supportive company culture that attracts and retains high-quality talent.
For more information on how you can elevate your employer-sponsored child care services and family benefits, visit our employer page or contact our team today.