The customer arrives at a fast-food restaurant, orders his lunch, but cannot sit at any table, even though they are empty. This scene has been common in US cities in recent months.
Due to lack of employees, several snack bars have reduced their operations and only sell take-out food. With fewer employees, there are no people to clear the tables.
The country is experiencing a wave of resignations, which earned the name of “Great Resignation”. In October alone, 4.2 million workers left their jobs voluntarily in the country, according to data from the Department of Labor.
The movement has been taking place throughout the year and had a slight drop compared to September, when 4.6 million resigned. The southern region of the country accounts for around 40% (1.7 million) of orders.
The wave of layoffs began at the end of last year, when the country was reopening after the closings for the beginning of the pandemic. Departures are taking place in different areas, especially transport, industry, finance, entertainment and even public service.
Many young people have also announced on their social networks that they are leaving work, and making it an event. On TikTok, the hashtag #quittingmyjob has 62 million views. In short videos, there are several records of the exact moment when the phrase “I resign” was said to the boss, often in a bold way.
“Attention customers, this is the moment when I’m quitting this damn job. Screw the boss who harasses the team daily. Screw Mary, shitty boss who doesn’t give a damn about his employees. “Fuck management. I’m quitting. Now go email about it, bitch,” announced Edwin Pos over the sound system of a Target supermarket.
He recorded the scene, which includes heavier cursing, and posted it on the internet.
Gaby Iannilo, another user who announced her resignation, seeks to be an influencer on the topic and created the profile @Corporatequitter, in which she posts content to motivate more people to quit their jobs.
“Want to know why millions of people are quitting? It’s because we have options. Before, you had to have a job in a physical place, close to where you lived. But today you can be in the middle of nowhere and create an entire business or work remotely using your smartphone. So why don’t we give it a try?”
The reasons for leaving their job and not wanting to return are varied, and many of them are related to the pandemic. On the one hand, many more educated workers like the flexible home office routine, do not want to return to the office and have reservations to support themselves for some time while looking for a more interesting job or trying to undertake.
On the other hand, operators of basic services got tired of poor working conditions, low wages and lack of prospects, and they do not want to exchange a bad service for one that is just a little better, but seek a more significant change.
“The general attitude among many workers has become to focus less on moving up in their careers and more on making money to maintain a lifestyle,” wrote Adam Povlitz, chief executive of Anago, a cleaning company, in a recent article.
The list of reasons to leave also includes seeking improvements in mental health and fear of the coronavirus, especially in the case of people who live with children (who cannot yet be vaccinated) and the elderly.
On the corporate side, companies have been making more aggressive campaigns to attract employees, such as offering more consistent career paths. In TV commercials, Amazon promises to help depository assistants attend university. At McDonald’s, the cups carry the phrase “we’re hiring!” The warning is repeated on storefronts and posters across cities.
The American job market has many vacancies available. In October, over 531 thousand jobs were created. This gives people some peace of mind to consider taking some time off the market, as it won’t be difficult to go back if need be.
The lack of people willing to work, however, generates concern in the government and in businessmen, as it delays production and the general recovery of the economy in the post-pandemic period. One of the debates is whether increasing federal aid to Americans can help solve the problem, or make it stronger.
The Biden government has proposed increasing the remittance of money and grants to families with children and expanding access to day care. Thus, more fathers and mothers will be able to look for jobs because they do not need to stay at home taking care of their children. Opponents, on the other hand, point out that earning more money from the government will make more people give up working, complicating the resumption.
The creation of new aids is part of the BBB package (Building Back Better, rebuild better), approved by the House and under review by the Senate. The expectation is that it will be voted on by Christmas.
Meanwhile, the absence of workers in some companies ends up overloading employees who continue to work, which can motivate more of them to leave the post, stimulating a ripple effect capable of generating more restaurants with closed tables across the country.
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I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
