'Great resignation' coming, with almost half of Irish employees planning to quit
Just under half of those surveyed said they want to split their time between the office and working from home, while 32.5% want to work remotely full time.
The “great resignation” could be about to hit companies, as new research has found almost half of Irish workers are planning on quitting their jobs.
A new study has found 42% of Irish workers intend on resigning within the next 12 months – a figure that has jumped from 21% prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Workhuman Fall 2021 International Survey Report tracked 3,500 employees in Ireland, the US, Canada and the UK and found that Irish people are not alone in wanting to hand in their notice.
Some 48% of people in the UK have plans to quit while the figure falls to 36% in the US and Canada.
The drive for a new job has been spurred on by a desire for better pay and greater flexibility.
For women, pay was a key issue with 36% saying their reason for wanting to move jobs was that their salary was too low. This compared to just under a quarter of men (24.5%).
Some 36% of men said that more flexibility was their main reason for seeking change, compared to 27% of women.
Better work culture and a better job title were also cited as reasons for change by 16% of men.
For women, work culture (19%) was seen as more of a reason to change jobs than a better title (13%).
The survey indicates strong relationships with superiors, with just 3% of men and 5% of women saying they no longer wanted to work for their manager.
Blended office work is a key factor for people with just one-in-five saying they want to work in the office all of the time.
Just under half said they want to split their time between the office and working from home, while 32.5% want to work remotely full time.
Working parents are amongst the most likely to leave their job, the survey found – 52.5% of which said they intended to resign within the next year and of those, just over one-third (35.5%) said they wanted more flexibility at work.
Burnout is also having a serious effect on employees. Some 65.5% of women and 59.5% of the men revealed that they had experienced burnout during their careers.
Of those, 81.5% of women and 78% of men said this had occurred during the last 12 months.
Derek Irvine, senior vice-president of client strategy and consulting at Workhuman, said employers must take action now to prevent “unprecedented” levels of staff turnover.
He said after a year and a half of uncertainly and strain, Irish workers "now have a very strong idea of what they will and will not tolerate at work", with many now seeking new opportunities.
Mr Irvine said the number of people looking to move jobs could cost business in the long run.
Citing data from US analytics company Gallup that says the cost of replacing a member of staff is somewhere between one-and-an-half and two-times their annual salary, Mr Irvine said costs can add up for businesses.
“It’s clear that organisations need to make employee retention a strategic objective, creating environments where employees are recognised and rewarded for their contributions, and where employee needs are front and centre of the decision-making process.”
