The Great Resignation of 2020/2021/2022 - have you quit your job for greener pastures?

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, OnTheBranchline said:

I've been trying to get another job for years but it's a bit of Catch 22.

I can relate. My position was eliminated (after working at the same company for 25 years) a couple of months before the pandemic. (A similar thing happened to multiple people in the same 'team' who were all between 50 and 60.) This essentially puts me (involuntarily) in the cohort of the 'great resignation'.

 

While I could certainly have tried "harder" to find gainful employment, and even though I am willing to accept lower compensation, I have not been selected for any position - even those where I interviewed. This never happened to me in my early career.

 

Before the holidays I was offered a position (verbally by people I knew) but this did not progress to a written offer, the company being under a hiring freeze in anticipation of a global recession.

[tomparryharry]

I'm going back a bit, but some years back I was involved in producing some high-end fabrics for the aerospace & oil industry. After a bit of an argument about pay & conditions, I was sacked, which came as a blessed relief.  However.... They forgot that I was the only employee who knew the requirements  to achieve  a QS 9000 audit, and  more important, keep them. Come the anniversary audit, the quality system failed miserably, loosing the management a vital part of its income & profit... The Company ended up being bought out by a competitor; oh dear.... 

 

That's all behind me now; 22 to retirement. Hours, that is....

 

 

[OnTheBranchline]

4 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I can relate. My position was eliminated (after working at the same company for 25 years) a couple of months before the pandemic. (A similar thing happened to multiple people in the same 'team' who were all between 50 and 60.) This essentially puts me (involuntarily) in the cohort of the 'great resignation'.

 

While I could certainly have tried "harder" to find gainful employment, and even though I am willing to accept lower compensation, I have not been selected for any position - even those where I interviewed. This never happened to me in my early career.

 

Before the holidays I was offered a position (verbally by people I knew) but this did not progress to a written offer, the company being under a hiring freeze in anticipation of a global recession.

 

I will say that the one thing I didn't appreciate until later as how much of a ratrace work is - there's so much time for self-improvement in a career if one chooses to pursue it.

 

I know there's a lot of inequality/unfairness in terms of lousy compensation/benefits, but there's also putting yourself forward and putting in the extra effort to justify why you're special and why the dude in the cubicle isn't. 

[Reorte]

6 hours ago, OnTheBranchline said:

 

I will say that the one thing I didn't appreciate until later as how much of a ratrace work is - there's so much time for self-improvement in a career if one chooses to pursue it.

 

I know there's a lot of inequality/unfairness in terms of lousy compensation/benefits, but there's also putting yourself forward and putting in the extra effort to justify why you're special and why the dude in the cubicle isn't. 

Something I've never been interested in, yet they keep trying to push me "upwards." Some simply can't grasp that to me it's a job, not a career, I've no interest in pursuing a career. I've also not much interest in more pay, although I'll kick up a fuss if there's any sign of trying to take advantage of that and screw me over.

 

This confuses quite a few people.

[Andy7]

I’m 16 months into temporary retirement (I finished 23 years at my previous employer and have been drawing my pension since the day I left).

Now is the time to try and find some work that suits. I’m not too fussed about chasing the beat paid job and as above it’s a job not a career. I am only doing it to enable me to do what I want and need in life. It will be work to live not live to work. I can entertain myself without work (2 kids, 3 cars, motorbike, house to run/diy, walking with the odd trip to the pub and of course model trains). 
What job I do is up in the air but hopefully I can find something I enjoy that pays enough.

[jjb1970]

I switched jobs during the pandemic but nothing to do with the great resignation, home working or anything pandemic related. Just offered an opportunity which was too good not to take. 

[Trainshed Terry]

On 07/02/2022 at 18:03, Trainshed Terry said:

But not to worry I start to receive one of my pensions from April this year.

 

I am in recipt of my pension now, but I am still looking for part time work, but it seams that the jobs I look at, You have to have certificates to be eligable to apply for them.

 

But in the mean time I am doing some volunteering at a local chariy supporting people that have limited computer skills by using an online based course "Link to the online based course. , And at the "Imperial War Musum at Duxford" twice a month or as required. 

 

Terry.

 

[figworthy]

12 hours ago, Reorte said:

Something I've never been interested in, yet they keep trying to push me "upwards." Some simply can't grasp that to me it's a job, not a career, I've no interest in pursuing a career. I've also not much interest in more pay, although I'll kick up a fuss if there's any sign of trying to take advantage of that and screw me over.

 

This confuses quite a few people.

 

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a boss some years back.

 

Boss - "could you do my job ?"

Me = "Probably, but why would I want to ?"

 

He didn't have an answer to that.

I never worked out if boss was trying to get me promoted, or if he was being leant on (I know this happened with other people).  The thing was, I was happy doing "stuff", promotion would mean stopping doing "stuff" and starting to do management.  I wasn't interested in doing management, and I was far from convinced that I'd be good at it, and felt that we already had more than enough bad managers.

 

Partly because of the surplus of bad managers, I quit about 18 months before I could get a full company pension,  probably the best career move I ever made.

 

Adrian

[Michael Hodgson]

41 minutes ago, figworthy said:

 

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a boss some years back.

 

Boss - "could you do my job ?"

 

Sounds like the sort of stupid question he's been told on some course that he should ask.

 

HR managers as they call Personnel Departmemts these days are usually the worst.  They can't assess the workers themselves, because only your line manager knows whether you're any good or not, so they don't really have that much to do.  All they can do is push the paper around but to justify their existence they have to be seen to be innovating so they come up with schemes they've heard of from some hare-brained "expert".

[BR traction instructor]

I retired at 49 in 2016, the railway had transitioned into something unrecognisable after privatisation and I didn’t need or want any part of it. I haven’t missed work at any point in the glorious seven years since and happily spend my time walking/climbing in the Lake District, North Pennines, Yorkshire Dales or Scottish borders with the girlfriend, or else building stock for Mostyn. The former colleagues that I stay in touch with are either desperate to escape, have already found different employment, or have similarly retired early.

 

I already receive one pension, should start another in 5 yrs time and the third in 10 years time.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 25, 2023 by BR traction instructor

[OnTheBranchline]

My co worker got a job that my headhunter didn’t tell me about (which I would have been even more qualified for) - 37.5% increase in salary, bonus, retirement savings contribution matching.

[woodenhead]

3 hours ago, OnTheBranchline said:

My co worker got a job that my headhunter didn’t tell me about (which I would have been even more qualified for) - 37.5% increase in salary, bonus, retirement savings contribution matching.

I think you need a new headhunter, he isn't hunting for you.

[woodenhead]

On 24/02/2023 at 23:21, Michael Hodgson said:

HR managers as they call Personnel Departmemts these days are usually the worst.  They can't assess the workers themselves, because only your line manager knows whether you're any good or not, so they don't really have that much to do.  All they can do is push the paper around but to justify their existence they have to be seen to be innovating so they come up with schemes they've heard of from some hare-brained "expert".

HR are there to ensure the manager does a fair interview, so that he interviewee does not have the grounds to appeal a decision because the manager was biased in any way.  They are for the protection of the company in that situation and they will also make sure you are employable, again so as not to waste company money and time.

[wombatofludham]

Following a mental health breakdown I retired age 40 on an occupational pension.  My mental health hasn't looked backward since.  There again, when I was at school Clive Sinclair was predicting a future where humans would be creatures of leisure and machines would be doing all the work needed.  Of those who I was in the 6th form with in Rugeley, and who believed Sir Clive was a guru, all have given up rat-race work to do other stuff or retire, from running a guesthouse, lifestyle coaching or in my case, railway modelling.  All of us are happier now than ever despite us all reaching 60 this year!

Must be something in the water in Rugeley.

[pete_mcfarlane]

HR are of great value if they do their job properly - at my employer some recent minor changes to people's job descriptions came with clear instructions from HR on what to tell people, and to make sure they were comfortable and didn't read anything untoward into it. With a script to read, to make sure that everyone got the same message. Somebody had put a lot of thought into how that was communicated out. 

 

This was on the day that Elon Musk sacked thousands of his Twitter minions by text message.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

... clear instructions from HR on what to tell people, ...

In my experience they do this with redundancies - sound bites devoid of explanation like "your position is being eliminated". 

 

No explanations, no reasons, no details - just the sound bite. Managers are expected to follow the script.

 

2 minutes ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

This was on the day that Elon Musk sacked thousands of his Twitter minions by text message.

No doubt many of those sacked were HR people.

 

[OnTheBranchline]

1 minute ago, Ozexpatriate said:

In my experience they do this with redundancies - sound bites devoid of explanation like "your position is being eliminated". 

 

No explanations, no reasons, no details - just the sound bite. Managers are expected to follow the script.

 

No doubt many of those sacked were HR people.

 

All those Twitter people will have severance packages. 

[MarkC]

Back in 1990 I was headhunted. I was Second Engineer at the time, & was offered a Chief's position in another company.

 

I went from 50 days' leave after a 5 month trip, to 2 on, one off with 3 month long trips, a pay rise and promotion. A bit of a no-brainer, really.

 

Mark

[Ozexpatriate]

Just now, OnTheBranchline said:

All those Twitter people will have severance packages. 

Probably. I doubt they are very generous and at that time they would have to sign a confidentiality agreement to not share the terms of the severance before they would receive it.

 

The US National Labor Relations Board has recently made a rule change that insisting on this confidentially requirement is not permitted.

[Bernard Lamb]

The hidden benefit of covid.

The realization that there was an alternative to the rat race.

Bernard

[Northmoor]

On 24/02/2023 at 10:09, Reorte said:

Something I've never been interested in, yet they keep trying to push me "upwards." Some simply can't grasp that to me it's a job, not a career, I've no interest in pursuing a career. I've also not much interest in more pay, although I'll kick up a fuss if there's any sign of trying to take advantage of that and screw me over.

 

This confuses quite a few people.

A lot of companies' performance review processes are set up to work this way.  A friend at a former employer was asked to describe his career plans for the year when he had already made clear he was retiring! 

 

The push to get people up the ladder relates to a management mindset which seems to come from the MBA schools and is common in American corporate culture: "If you're not over-performing, you're under-performing".  There are no thanks for doing your job perfectly satisfactorily, everyone is expected to do extra, a lot extra.  It is in the companies' financial interest of course; encourage your five staff on your team paid at Level 1 to do much of the work of a Level 2 employee, then when a promotion opportunity comes up, only one of them gets the job.  Meanwhile you have have had five "Level 1.5s" but have only had to pay for five Level 1s.  This isn't about staying on for the odd half hour to get something finished, that is perfectly reasonable IMO; however I was once told I should expect to do 10% more than my contracted hours, which amounts to a whole free afternoon a week (for nothing).  

 

Relating to this is another term common with some managers which I find an offensive slur - that someone is "coasting".  In my experience, those people who aren't fighting their way up the career ladder usually do a very good job, but always leave on time because not only is work not their whole life (unlike their manager's), but they often have caring commitments which their manager doesn't remember because they have no interest.

[woodenhead]

Just found out on the weekly 'all leaders' call that my boss is taking on a new assignment within the company, and that he is working through what this means for his team at a meeting this week - ah yes the strategy day planned for two days time after a meal tonight - sounds like a leaving do and new manager from Thursday kinda meeting to me.  Would have been nice to have had the heads up this was being announced to the wider group today.

 

So what does my remaining time look like - my division is on a no growth agenda with all contracts aligned to a fixed point in the future when the division will no longer exist, the fact my boss has taken a move to an area where they want to win further business tells me the no growth is now baked in.  So I have 18 months remaining with the company.....

 

Now this is not the end of the world and neither is any of this news to me, my boss is great but he is much younger than me and has openly stated he has no desire to run down the clock and watch a business close down.  So I knew he would be moving at some point and that I might need to aclimatise to a new boss.  There is one potential other route here that might be about to happen which I cannot talk about and possibly negotiations have completed, will have to see.

[Talltim]

16 hours ago, OnTheBranchline said:

All those Twitter people will have severance packages. 

And the sacking of the European ones was of doubtful legality

[OnTheBranchline]

1 hour ago, Talltim said:

And the sacking of the European ones was of doubtful legality

 

What, being sacked by a billionaire through a tweet, ISN'T legal?

[Talltim]

58 minutes ago, OnTheBranchline said:

 

What, being sacked by a billionaire through a tweet, ISN'T legal?

You say that, but in the US it seems it can be.