The great resignation

THE great resignation is upon us with one-in-five workers quitting their jobs over the past year amid Covid burnout, lack of direction and poor pay.

The findings flow from a survey of workers by National Australia Bank that also found one-in-four, or 25 per cent, are thinking about leaving their current job.

The global trend for workers to reassess their career path during Covid has been dubbed the great resignation.

The latest local insight into the trend follows job ads hitting a new record high in January and unemployment rates in some areas dropping to a near 50-year low.

NAB business bank executive Julie Rynski said people were leaving their jobs because of a lack of personal fulfilment, purpose or meaning, career limitations, mental health concerns and poor pay.

“Many Australians who are considering changing jobs are also looking for a fresh start, with around three in 10 planning to change industry,” she said.

“Clearly the pandemic has shifted the expectations of Australian workers and this research suggests employers now need to work harder to retain talent.”

Job turnover was greatest for general unskilled workers, with 37 per cent indicating they had changed jobs in the past year, followed by labourers at 29 per cent and IT and technology workers at 28 per cent, the NAB survey shows.

Around three in 10 workers indicated they were considering leaving their job because of a lack of personal fulfilment and purpose while 29 per cent cited a lack of career growth.

The same number said they were considering leaving because of the impact of their current job on their mental health, while 27 per cent blamed poor pay and benefits, 23 per cent cited a poor worklife balance and 22 per cent said burnout was the motive.

“There are a number of theories why the great resignation might be happening but a heightened sense of mortality and burnout due to extra work, particularly among frontline ‘essential’ workers, is certainly high on the list,” Ms Rynski said.

“A strong rebound in the labour market is also giving people confidence they will find another job if they make the jump.”

Job advertisements on Seek hit a record in January, up 4.9 per cent from December and a hefty 36.6 per cent than from before Covid in January 2019.