When COVID-19 lockdowns placed a stranglehold on the hospitality industry, my staffing company helped a woman earn $3 an hour more than her previous gig at a hotel. But early on, she realized that the culture at Amazon, her new employer, was hyper focused on productivity around key performance indicators for her position. It was all about how many boxes could be packed and delivered each day. There was no room for her to make any real friends like in hospitality.
At the hotel where she used to work, she had a nice rhythm where she met with people all the time. She missed serving people and setting up displays. Eventually, she returned to that sector – making $1 less than she was at the Amazon plant we placed her into – but she’s much happier in that environment and feels like it works best for her lifestyle.
Her story typifies so much of what we’ve seen happen with the Great Resignation. Employers are struggling to motivate and retain talent because many of them have underestimated the value or importance of culture.
A record 47.4 million working Americans quit their jobs last year! Research shows that many of them realized that the business they left wasn’t aligned with their purpose. When people leave a company, the culture is severely impacted and it makes things harder for those who enjoyed working with departed colleagues.
The current labor market in the Great Resignation has served as a wakeup call, forcing employers to re-evaluate how they’re relating to their employees and ensuring that culture enhances wellbeing and fosters peer-to-peer relationships. It’s not just about driving revenue. It’s about leveraging the investment in human capital, which is the No. 1 asset in every business.