The Great Resignation of 2021: How to Find Meaning in your Workplace

You’ve probably been reading and hearing a lot about this “great resignation,” a large wave of people finally quitting their dreary jobs to move on to brighter pastures and land the job of their dreams.

The resignation situation is actually not as dramatic as a lot of major publications are painting it. The number of people quitting hasn’t changed too much since before the pandemic.

According to the 2021 Pulse of the American Worker’s Survey, a quarter of American workers are planning to “job hop” in 2021; this number is not much different from a 2019 study carried out by The Harris Poll, which found that 32% of American employees were planning on jumping ship.

What’s Really Going On?

Yes, there has been a concentrated wave of resignations during 2021, but this can be explained by a LinkedIn survey which explains that people have been sheltering in their jobs during the pandemic and are just now feeling comfortable enough to leave. It’s like the regular number of resignations that should have happened throughout the course of two years is now happening all at once.

 But there is a growing trend here that has been gearing up since before the pandemic hit. What is being called the great resignation of 2021 should be called the great expectations of 2021.

Because a lot of these studies, including the ones mentioned above, are basing the “great resignation” on what people are “planning” and “thinking” of doing. Thinking about changing jobs is a lot different than actually quitting and finding a new one.

But wanting to quit your job is still a significant shift that is happening in the workforce. People—especially millennials, which account for more than a third of the American workforce—are unhappy with their current jobs because they are raising their expectations.

According to a recent jobs report from Alana Semuels at Time Magazine: “the minimum pay people are willing to accept to take a job—rose 26% in March compared with the same time last year.”

After the damage caused by the financial crisis in 2008, a politically tumultuous decade, an ever stagnant minimum wage, and the social reckoning happening within our society, the workforce, especially the younger workers, expect more than just increased financial compensation from their employers and are finally demanding more. 

Quitting Isn’t Always the Answer

As expectations are on the rise, you may find yourself to be among the thousands of people contemplating a job change.

In many cases, a job change is the right choice, but it shouldn’t be your first reaction when you decide that your needs and desires aren’t being met within your current position.

When there is a wide gap between what you want and what you have at your current job, ask yourself these questions and explore the answers to determine if the situation is salvageable.

1.    Are your organization’s mission, vision, and values aligned with your own?

When you explore what values and passions are most important to you, it’s important to determine whether you are working in an atmosphere and community that reinforces and promotes these things.

If your mission and values are misaligned within your job, it can be a root cause for feeling disconnected and unmotivated.

Talk to the people above you or HR to address these concerns and figure out a way to align yourself or your job to your values.

2.   What new skills do I want to acquire or build on?

Think about those skills, training, and workshops you’ve always wanted to look into. It’s a good way to find out where your true passions lie.

How do these skills fit into your current job? Would they help you be more efficient at your current position or give you a leg up on a raise or promotion?

Maybe you realize that the new skills you want can be done outside of your job as a side hobby which can be another fulfilling endeavor within your life. Remember, your job doesn’t have to be the only aspect of your life from which you derive meaning and fulfillment.

3.   What do you want to be when you grow up?

You’re never too old to ask yourself this question.

When you’re feeling lost, unmotivated, and confused about your career, it’s important to clarify the direction you want to be headed. Determine your dreams and aspirations and see how your current job fits into that timeline.

Business Coaching and Executive Coaching Can Help:

Individuals have been using executive and business coaching to get ahead in their careers, improve their professionals and personal lives, and increase their earnings for decades.

Recently, the New York Times found that more and more people are using coaching to improve their current job situation or improve their chances of landing a better job in the future.

Here’s how a coach can help you find meaning, motivation, and success within your current job: 

1.    Mindset Work

Discussing the questions mentioned above with a trained professional like a business or executive coach can be more enlightening than doing it on your own.

With a trained partner who listens, bounces back ideas and encourages going deeper into important topics, you can get on the right path with more certainty and confidence.

Maybe you're stuck in a negative or counterproductive mindset; an objective viewpoint is the best way to think outside the box and find solutions.

A business coach will sit down with you, discuss your preconceived notions of success, and listen to your insights on what success means for you.

To create a career plan that works for you, reaching fulfillment is a mindset that should be created on your own terms. 

2.    Move Up—Instead of Out

Maybe what you need is to move up the ladder within your current organization instead of quitting a job you have already mastered at an organization you already know well.

Whether moving up means a raise, more responsibilities, a leadership position, or a corner office—an executive coach will help you reach that goal.

You will work with your coach one-on-one to evaluate what can be changed/improved within yourself and your surroundings to move up.

Coaches may spend significant time working to understand the workplace dynamics of their clients to get a better idea of the situation, how they fit into their environment, what projects and responsibilities should be taken on to use as upwards stepping stones.

To get you closer to your goal, a coach will help you create a tangible way to demonstrate to your superiors how you contribute to your company and why you are valuable in different ways.

3.    Create Productive Relationships and a Meaningful Support Network

A lot of an individual’s professional success stems from the growth and success of their work-related relationships.

A coach will help you determine what relationships are the most valuable to invest in, whether that is seeking out a specific sponsor at work that will put in a good word for you or a close colleague that can turn into a productive partnership to work smarter, not harder.

Not only will these relationships help you be more productive and successful, but they will be more emotionally fulfilling and make you happier in the long run.

When you feel that you have a support network within your job, it is easier to feel content and fulfilled; when things on the work side get rough, it’s good to know that you have people on your side that care for you and want to help.

Bottom Line

A good thing that has come out of this movement of great expectations is that companies and businesses are offering more as more people expect more. That means your current job is more than likely very willing to give more to those employees that decide to stick around.

A coach can help you tremendously when stuck between a rock and a hard place. But ultimately, the one that decides the course of your career is YOU.