Covid set of nearly unprecedented churn in the labour market and widespread job losses in the early months of the pandemic gave way to tight labour markets in 2021, and the world’s ‘quit rate’ reached a 20 year high last November, in what has come to be known as the ’Great Resignation’. 

Whilst we can bundle resignations into the ‘Covid’ basket, it is helpful to know what motivated employees to leave among those that quit at any point in 2021. The latest Pew Research Centre survey has found the reasons why workers quit and provides some great revelations for employers to factor into their culture and offering for 2022 and moving forward:-

The data reveals:

63% Pay was too low

63% No advancement opportunities

57% Felt disrespected at work

48% Child Care Issues

45% Not enough flexibility

43% Benefits weren’t good

35% Wanted to relocate to another area

39% Working too many hours

30% Working too few hours

18% Employer required a Covid vaccine

Work-Life Balance

Employed men and women who quit a job in 2021 offer similar assessments of how their current job compares with their last one. One notable exception is when it comes to balancing work and family responsibilities: Six-in-ten men say their current job makes it easier for them to balance work and family – higher than the share of women who say the same (48%).

Changes In Fields of Work / Occupation

Some 53% of employed adults who quit a job in 2021 say they have changed their field of work or occupation at some point in the past year. Workers younger than age 30 and those without a postgraduate degree are especially likely to say they have made this type of change.

Many who switched jobs see improvements

A majority of those who quit a job in 2021 and are not retired say they are now employed, with 61% saying it was at least somewhat easy for them to find their current job, with 33%s aying it was very easy. The survey found that those who quit are now employed elsewhere, and are more likely than not to say their current job has better pay, more opportunities for advancement and more work-life balance and flexibility.

At least half of these workers say that compared with their last job, they are now earning more money (56%), have more opportunities for advancement (53%), have an easier time balancing work and family responsibilities (53%) and have more flexibility to choose when they put in their work hours (50%).

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