THE IMPACT OF WORKERS NOT RETURNING TO THE JOB MARKET: WHERE HAVE THEY GONE

Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the paradigm shift that unfolded throughout the “Great Resignation\Reshuffling” (2020-2022) within the minds of individuals post March 2021. To fully understand the Great Resignation, one must look at the year prior to the event. In March of 2020, the world changed as billions of individuals watched as boundaries, academic institutions, government agencies and corporations shut their doors all in the name of containment of the infectious disease known as Coronavirus (COVID-19). As cases increased across the global, organizations had to reassess the human capital cost considering dwindling revenue and executive orders that closed all nonessential businesses. The decision by U.S organizations to furlough and/or lay off workers led to approximately 23 million Americans unemployed and standing in a place of ambiguity. Over the next two (2) years, the government worked in collaboration with organizations to instate policies/protocols to re-open America and return life to the new normal inclusive of working online and in person. However, Americans were slow to return to the workforce that once so flippantly provided them a termination letter. The stagnation in ready and able bodies willing to return to the workforce has led to a labor shortage. Despite several efforts to incentivize individuals to return, the statistics did not reflect the desired outcome and the cause was and is relatively unknown. In light of this unprecedent phenomenon, this study utilized a netnography to explore the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Bullshit Job Theory within the framework of re-engaging in the job market after the pandemic. The findings from study one (1) suggest that a newfound sense of worth, salary, stress steward of care, and stumbling blocks are the leading factors that may prohibit individuals from returning to work. As individuals remained on the work sidelines a spillover effect started to unfold. Those individuals working had to shoulder the work of those who had not yet returned and an uptick in quit rates soon emerged known as the Great Resignation. Consequently, the organizations started to cannibalize the job market creating an environment for individuals to resign and explore new opportunities. To investigate this phenomenon, study two (2) performed a deep dive into the subreddit “r/antiwork:” to explore why individuals were quitting their jobs. The data from study two (2) indicates 20% of the high engaging posts on the subreddit thread of “r/antiwork” can be associated with one (1) of the five (5) categories defined as a Bullshit job.