Why Employees Are Quitting in 2021? 101 Post-Pandemic Resignation Statistics + Data Analysis

So far, 2021 has been another weird year. There are millions of jobs available to workers. But there are also a huge number of resignations. The hospitality industry has been hit harder than most with restaurants and bars struggling to attract workers. But what’s the catalyst for this so-called great resignation?

According to the International Labour Organization, there were 114 million job losses globally in 2020. This was an all-time record number of job losses. As of May 2021, the U.S. unemployment rate is at 5.8%, while the European is sitting at 8.0%. The jobless rate hit 14.8 percent in April 2020, the highest level since data was collected in 1948. Unemployment remained higher (5.8%) in May 2021 than it was in February 2020. (3.5 percent ).

The rate of resignations is increasing, indicating a high risk of turnover in the second-half of 2021. Experts in the fields of labor and the workplace have projected a surge in post-pandemic resignations. According to a workforce analytics organization, indicators suggest the “great resignation” is genuine and coming sooner than expected. Even during the pandemic, resignation rates increased significantly from July to September.

If you’re curious about the statistics behind why so many employees are quitting this year, check out the data points below.

Should you resign due to stress?

Employee Turnover Statistics

Every year, an average of 18% of a company’s personnel will leave. (Netsuite)

65 percent of tech workers believe they can find a better job. (Legal Jobs)

On average, a company will lose 6% of its workforce due to layoffs or bad performance. (Netsuite)

Low talent retention will cost the United States $430 billion per year by 2030. (Legal Jobs)

The average annual turnover rate for outstanding performers is currently at 3%. (Netsuite)

Employees that leave during the first year have a 10 times greater turnover rate. (Legal Jobs)

People, on average, do not stay in their jobs for very long. The BLS estimates that wage and salaried workers have been with their present employer for 4.1 years on average. Since 2018, this hasn’t changed much. Workers in the public sector have a longer average tenure, at 6.5 years. (Netsuite)

Companies that allow employees to work remotely have a 25% lower turnover rate. (Legal Jobs)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers between the ages of 55 and 64 have an average tenure of 9.9 years. That’s more than quadruple the 2.8-year average tenure of workers aged 25 to 34. In January 2020, 54 percent of workers aged 60 to 64 had been with their present company for at least 10 years, compared to 10% of workers aged 30 to 34. (Netsuite)

Employee turnover has grown in recent years, according to 63 percent of CFOs. (Legal Jobs)

Teams of employees are calling it quits.

At the one-year milestone, 10 times as many employees quit than at the 5-year mark. (Netsuite)

Companies in Europe have a 4% lower turnover rate on average. (Legal Jobs)

Every year, organizations lose an average of 13% of their workforce because they opt to quit on their own. (Netsuite)

Workers in managerial and professional occupations had an average tenure of 4.9 years, with the longest tenures in engineering, legal, and architecture. With a typical tenure of 2.9 years, those in the service industry, which skews younger, had the shortest tenure. Foodservice employees had the shortest average tenure, at 1.9 years. (Netsuite)

Over the last five years, culture-related turnover could have cost businesses as much as $223 billion. (Netsuite)

Risk of Employee Turnover Statistics

More than a quarter of employees are at risk of being laid off. (Willis Towers Watson)

Over half of American workers feel they will be able to find a new job in the next six months if they lose their current one. (Glassdoor)

Resignations accounted for the biggest number of separations – 3.02 million, or 2.08 percent of total employment, according to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the preceding month, 46 percent of high-retention-risk employees utilized apps to find new jobs, compared to 13 percent of low-risk employees. (Willis Towers Watson)

Reducing turnover and preventing lost revenue, capacity, and/or incapacity to supply quality products and services has a 7-9 percent influence on top-line performance. (Sparkhound)

Dissatisfaction with compensation or perks (34 percent), not enough progression possibilities (33 percent), and a lack of learning and development (27 percent) are the top three reasons Generation Z (born between the mid-1990s and present) would leave their employment in the next two years. (Deloitte)

Hospitality is struggling to find workers.

The most commonly reported reasons for leaving a job are career growth (22 percent) and work-life balance (12 percent), and these figures are on the rise. (Work Institute)

Over 70% of high-retention-risk employees believe they will need to quit their company to develop their careers. (Willis Towers Watson)

Only around 1/9 of all separations are due to retirement or another type of planned separation, according to the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, while 6/10 are resignations and 3/10 are layoffs. (Hppy)

Nearly half (43%) of new employees quit within the first 90 days of their employment. (Work Institute)

Over a third of Black professionals (35%) want to leave their jobs within two years, compared to 27% of white professionals, with rates slightly higher for Black women (36%) than Black males (33 percent ). (Coqual)

At some point in their careers, 40% of employees have resigned on the spur of the moment. (Zippia)

Growth and development possibilities were highlighted by 25% of employees who cited career development as a motivation for leaving. (Work Institute)

Employees who do not have access to flexible time are twice as likely to express dissatisfaction. (Harvard Business Review)

At any given time, 51% of workers are actively looking for new job prospects. (The Digital Group)

Job Quitting Statistics from 2021 (So Far)

A quarter of workers (26%) say they dread going to work every day. (Netsuite)

3.5 million people resigned from their jobs at the start of 2020. (Work Institute)

Within the first six months after starting a new job, 31% of employees quit. (Legal Jobs)

Almost half of the employees say they will not resign until they have a new job lined up. While 22% are confident they will be able to find another job quickly if they quit sooner rather than later. Furthermore, 36% are willing to quit simply because they are dissatisfied with their current position. (Zippia)

In the United States, the overall quit rate is 2.3 percent, while the discharge rate is 1.2 percent. This translates to 3.4 million resignations and 1.8 million layoffs. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Burnout is a major cause of turnover, and toxic workplaces contribute to it. According to a recent survey, 74 percent of respondents had experienced job burnout. (Netsuite)

38 percent of employees who voluntarily resign do so to retire. (The QTI Group)

Employees that decided to leave in March 2020 accounted for 2,902,000 of the total turnovers. Meanwhile, there have been 13,046,000 layoffs and discharges, with 360 thousand other separations. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Employed in the restaurant industry.

Sixty-four percent of workers say they are considering leaving their employment. Of these, 13% do so regularly. (Zippia)

According to a 2019 survey, one of the primary reasons why American employees quit is to earn more money (25 percent ). This is followed by dissatisfaction with their current job (16%) and a desire to work for a company that shares their values (14 percent ). (Statista)

Employers could prevent 78 percent of typical reasons for employee turnover by addressing them. (Work Institute)

New job opportunities, according to 47 percent of HR professionals, are a greater motivator for employees to quit than job dissatisfaction. In reality, however, more than a third of workers report the inverse. (Monster)

Inadequate career development is cited as a reason for leaving by 21% of employees. (SHRM)

About a third of employees leave their jobs because they are unable to learn new skills, making a lack of career advancement one of the most common reasons for leaving. (Business Insider)

For employees who leave during their first 90 days at a business, the most common reason for leaving is professional development. (Work Institute)

Costs of labor.

Cost of Employee Turnover Statistics

Turnover and replacement expenses for a 100-person company with an average pay of $50,000 might be as much as $2.6 million per year. (Netsuite)

Over $630 billion has been spent in the United States on employee turnover. (Work Institute)

According to a Canadian poll on employee turnover, the cost of replacing an employee might range from 75 percent to 200 percent of the individual’s annual salary. (Monster)

According to employment turnover statistics, if the median employee wage is $45,000, the average turnover cost can be roughly $15,000. (Legal Jobs)

Sixty-six percent of workers have accepted a job only to discover it is not a good fit. Half of those who quit did so in less than six months. (Netsuite)

A corporation can lose up to a third of a worker’s annual compensation with each resignation. Soft costs, such as lower productivity, account for 67 percent of the total, while hard expenditures, such as recruiting and hiring temp workers, account for 33 percent. (SHRM)

According to 2019 research on employee turnover costs, the cost of change in executive roles might be as high as 213 percent. (Legal Jobs)

The cost of replacing a single employee might range from half to twice their annual income. That means that losing an employee with an $80,000 annual income might cost the company up to $160,000. (Netsuite)

Working in a kitchen.

According to a more recent study, the cost of replacing an employee is 33 percent of their annual compensation. (Emplify)

When it comes to turnover costs, CFOs concur that low employee retention rates result in a greater cost due to lost productivity. (Legal Jobs)

High-level turnover is costly, but turnover that occurs as a result of employing the incorrect individual in the first place is also costly. Nearly three-quarters of businesses admit to employing the incorrect individual for the job, and each bad hire costs them $14,900 on average. A poor hire can reduce productivity, degrade job quality, and cause a hasty recruitment process. (Netsuite)

Even hourly staff can be costly to replace. An $8/hour employee turnover can cost a company roughly $3,500. Each employee receives an average of $1,886 and 47.6 hours of training per year from their employers. (Investopedia)

The cost of a talent deficit varies, but the United States is expected to pay $435.7 billion, the United Kingdom $90 billion, and China $147.1 billion. (Catalyst)

A better retention rate can increase a company’s earnings by up to four times on average. (Legal Jobs)

Top Reasons Good Employees Decide to Quit

Limited Career Growth. Professionals have clear aspirations for advancing in their careers and one of the top two reasons why people leave their jobs is a lack of advancement chances. Recognizing hard work and praising employees for a job well done, as well as establishing a clear career path, can help employees feel like they have a long-term future with the company.

The Corporate Culture Is No Longer Appropriate. This could be the most difficult issue to resolve. While some of the causes are personal, this is frequently a company-wide issue. Promoting open communication among managers and employees in the workplace, on the other hand, can help boost retention rates. Allowing employees to come together outside the office develops a sense of belonging and loyalty.

Thought of Being Underpaid. Another important factor is salary. Employees are acutely aware of their market value since they can readily find out what their peers in other organizations are earning. Offering competitive pay and other advantages can encourage them to stay. However, keep in mind that not all resignations are financial in nature and that finding other underlying issues may be required to retain an employee.

Ever dreamed of quitting your own job and starting a food truck?

Undervalued. Good employees want to be recognized for their efforts. When an employer disregards an individual’s achievements, the employee may look for value elsewhere. Implement a strategy for validating good employees so your staff feels like they are a valued member of the team. 

Lack of Motivation. Employees that are involved in their work they feel is pointless. Providing new challenges and creating new goals allows employees to feel productive and engaged is one approach that can work. 

Disengaged Employees. Employee engagement is on the rise, according to a Gallup research from August 2018, with a 2.6-to-1 ratio of actively engaged to disengaged employees. What signs do you look for to see if an employee is disengaged? You must pay attention to minor indications that may or may not be related to an employee’s employment length. One sign of a disengaged employee is not participating in meetings. 

Unskilled Managers. The notion that [if] someone is good at their day job, they’ll be good at leading and managing people is a major mistake that businesses might make. Misaligning people with their everyday responsibilities is one of the quickest ways to lose them. People must be trained to be managers in organizations. Invest time in your managers’ development, coaching, and mentoring.

Management Blunders. The majority of people do not resign from their employment; instead, they resign from their supervisors. When you lose a key employee, the first place you should look is at the management team. Managing a group of people is difficult. You must manage each individual and devote time to determining what each team member requires both at work and outside of work to perform at their best.

Workplace stress is a common reason cited for quitting.

Outdated Processes and Equipment. Keeping your technology up to date might help to keep key personnel interested in the company’s direction. Even if you can’t use cutting-edge systems in your business, consider sending personnel to outside training on cutting-edge systems if new technology or improvements aren’t in the budget. This will demonstrate that you regard their knowledge and abilities.

Disconnect with Employees. If managers don’t provide constructive comments regularly or chat to employees about career objectives at least once a year, your company is at risk of losing contact with its employees. While once-a-year performance assessments are the very minimum, most experts agree that more frequent reviews, particularly with millennials, are preferable.

Strict Workplace Policies. Flexible working hours and the option to work from home have become so common in today’s industry that they have become an expectation. Working on a flexible schedule can be a wonderful approach to keep professionals on board.

Unclear Mission. Employees will be less engaged if they do not grasp the organization’s or their department’s goals, or their position in the overall strategy. Most individuals want to work for a company with a strong corporate culture, one with a defined objective and a set of values that all employees, from the CEO on down.

No Work-Life Balance. Paying attention to employees’ efforts to balance work and home life can help retain top talent, and it’s frequently the small things that make the biggest difference. You can ensure you’re keeping and developing the best and brightest by regularly requesting feedback, listening to employees’ problems, and incorporating it into the fabric of daily life — both for the company and for employees’ personal lives. Eventually people burn out without a break. 

Employee Retention Trends in 2021

According to our survey, when their organization took action on today’s social challenges, the number of employees who were regarded as highly engaged climbed from 40% to 60%. (Gartner)

Many forward-thinking companies have already begun implementing AI and machine learning in various work tasks and are seeing positive results. So far, they’ve had a lot of success. In 2021, AI and machine learning will be a prominent employee engagement trend. (Vantage Circle) 

A blended workforce has already been implemented by several firms during the pandemic. In this hybrid scenario, CHROs note that men are more likely to elect to return to their job, while women are more likely to continue working remotely. (Gartner)

We are approaching the start of a culture-first decade in 2021. Employee engagement, which was once a novel concept at the turn of the century, is today a clear commercial goal. If you don’t improve your company culture, you’ll lose top talent. (Vantage Circle)

Employees who have control over when, where, and how much they work are 55 percent more likely to be good achievers in organizations that provide them with this flexibility. Expect a surge in new employment in 2021, when employees will be evaluated based on their productivity rather than a set of agreed-upon hours. (Gartner)

A prep cook is someone who assists the chef in the kitchen.

In 2021, embracing flexibility will be a hot topic in the employee engagement world. The majority of job functions do not necessitate people being physically present at work every day. And the next generation of workers is making the most of it. This is, in fact, a low-cost yet high-impact employee engagement strategy. It is a road that businesses should adopt. (Vantage Circle)

Employers who provide employees with life experience observe a significant rise (more than 20% ) in the number of employees reporting improved mental and physical health. Employer assistance for the complete employee life experience will be standard in employee benefits by 2021. (Gartner)

Because of their efficiency and user-friendliness, cloud goods have already established themselves. In the coming years, a large number of enterprises will enter this market. In the human resource management sector, cloud tools will continue to make waves. (Vantage Circle)

Employers will go even further in 2021 to de-stigmatize mental health by expanding mental health perks — such as shutting down the entire firm for a day by offering a “collective mental health day” — to raise awareness about this vital issue among the workforce. (Gartner)

Employees today are more interested in professional advancement than anything else. They desire to work in a position that allows them to develop both personally and professionally. They aim to gradually shape their careers with each professional role they take on. In 2021, one of the most sought-after employee engagement trends will be facilitating professional progression on the job. (Vantage Circle)

According to studies, less than half of employees trust their employers with their data, and 44% do not receive any information about the information gathered on them. In 2021, new restrictions at the state and local levels will begin to limit what firms can track about their employees. (Gartner)

Employees spend a significant portion of their waking hours at work. Naturally, the work environment and culture of a firm have a significant impact on employee health. An organization’s financial and moral responsibility is to provide a sound corporate wellness program. Many businesses have implemented wellness programs for their staff. This trend of employee engagement will only continue in 2021. (Vantage Circle)

When the need for new abilities arises, some organizations will hire and pay a premium for those skills. Other companies will instead increase their use of contingent and contract hire, or grow their collaborations with companies that will “rent” individuals for a limited time to meet their skill requirements. (Gartner)

Millennials already make up the majority of the workforce. In the next year, they will make up half of the workforce, and by 2030, they will make up three-quarters of the workforce and they will be followed by Generation Z. They enjoy having a variety of options. To give employees more control over their benefits, most organizations now use a point-based reward system for gifting and rewarding them. (Vantage Circle)

Employers who provide their employees the COVID-19 vaccine will use it as a major difference in attracting and retaining talent. Several companies will be sued at the same time for requesting proof of vaccination before allowing employees to return to work. Even as vaccination use rises, the resulting litigation will stymie efforts to return to work. (Gartner)

The digital world is evolving at a breakneck speed. People, on the other hand, have an innate desire for compassion, respect, and acknowledgment. In the digital age, emphasizing the “Human” aspect of HR will be critical. When it comes to creating an engaged workforce, technology will play a bigger role. (Vantage Circle)

Do you plan to submit your resignation this year?

Post-Pandemic Resignation Statistics

Employees between the ages of 30-35 (21.5%), 35-40 (19.6%), and 40-45 (25.1%) witnessed significant increases in resignations, indicating that individuals with more experience have continued to change employment. (Forbes)

Job vacancies were up in the most recent data for March 2021, but the other two indicators remained steady. At 2.4 percent, the quit rate was identical to that of February. In two industries, the number of persons departing their jobs voluntarily increased: lodging and food services (+63,000) and information (+16,000). (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Eighty percent of the 26 percent of workers who plan to leave their employers during the epidemic are doing so because they are concerned about their career advancement; meanwhile, 72 percent say the pandemic has made them reevaluate their skill sets. (CNBC)

Between March 2020 and March 2021, resignation rates in the tech business climbed by 4.5 percent, while resignation rates in the healthcare industry increased by 3.61 percent. There is reason to be concerned that healthcare professionals, who are dealing with heightened workplace stress and burnout, are at a greater risk of leaving this summer. (Forbes)

This year, 40% of people desire to shift occupations. A survey of workers in the United Kingdom and Ireland put the figure at 38%, while a similar survey in the United States revealed that 26% of workers plan to leave their current job in the next few months. (TechRepublic)

Once the pandemic threat has passed, one out of every four workers plans to look for a job with a different company. (Prudential)

Managerial resignation rates were about 12% higher in December 2020 than the previous year. Increased duties and burnout were most likely factors, but gender differences also played a role. (Forbes)

In the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, the labor market lost 20.5 million jobs, starting in March 2020. After a year, there are approximately 7.9 million fewer Americans employed than there were in February 2020, while the labor force has shrunk by 3.9 million. (CNBC)

Working inside a food bus.

According to a February study of 2,000 working adults, 52 percent are seeking work, up from 35 percent a year ago. (Achievers Workforce Institute)

According to the same poll, 46% of respondents believe they are less engaged with their work, and 42% say company culture has deteriorated since the outbreak began. Only 21% stated they are extremely engaged at work. (Achievers Workforce Institute)

Prior to the pandemic, around 3.5 million individuals left their employment on a monthly basis, but that number reduced to 1.9 million in April 2020. With an anticipated figure of 3.3 million for December, we’re already seeing a significant resurgence of voluntary turnover. It will only become more so. (SHRM)

It’s still too early to predict how the post-pandemic workplace will look. According to an estimate of ten metro areas, just approximately 28% of office workers in the United States have returned to their workplaces. (Bloomberg)