‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours

Are you navigating the tumultuous seas of the 'Great Attrition', or are you harnessing the power of the 'Great Attraction'? Your perspective can shape your reality. Let's delve into the dynamics of these contrasting concepts and the choice that lies in your hands.

The Great Resignation

19 million US workers have quit their jobs since April 2021

• Companies are struggling to address the problem because they don’t really understand why their employees are leaving in the first place
• The Great Attrition is widespread and likely to persist because many companies are making ineffective moves based on faulty assumptions
• If companies make a concerted effort to better understand why employees leave and take meaningful action to retain them the Great Attraction will happen
• Seize this unique moment to attract, develop, and retain talent

Otherwise satisfied employees may also be tempted to quit

Options are increasing, and with more and more employers offering remote-work choices for hard-to-source talent, these employees could change their intentions

• Having more “location agnostic” positions to choose from could prompt otherwise satisfied employees to start second-guessing their commitment to the companies where they now work

Employers can’t fix what they don’t understand

To stem the tide of the Great Attrition (or what many call the Great Resignation), senior executives must understand why employees are leaving.

• Exhibit 5 shows how the disconnect between employers and employees was most acute
• Employees were far more likely to prioritize relational factors, whereas employers were more inclined to focus on transactional ones

The Great Attrition is happening-and will probably continue

Forty percent of the employees in our survey said they are at least somewhat likely to quit in the next three to six months

• 18% are almost certain to do so
• Businesses in the leisure and hospitality industry are the most at risk for losing employees
• Even among educators, almost one-third report that they may quit
• Furthermore, these trends may persist

Start turning attrition into attraction

The pandemic has irrevocably changed what people expect from work. The landscape will continue to change as companies try out new hybrid-work approaches.

• If you’re a CEO or a member of a top team, your best move now is to hit “pause” and take the time to think through your next moves. Look to them to help shape the plan and solutions.

Attrition could get worse, since employees are willing to quit without a job lined up

36 percent of employees who have quit in the past six months did so without having a new job in hand

• This is yet another way the Great Resignation differs fundamentally from previous downturn-and-recovery cycles
• Employers may be out of touch with just how hard the past 18 months have been for their workers

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