The great resignation, consequences for professional training

"It is always on collective resignation that tyrants base their power."

Maurice Druon

From work without quality to a good life

From the "work-without-quality" described by Sennett, work that obtains all individual aspirations, we would perhaps move to work perceived as inconsistent or, worse, harmful with a denial of meaning, especially in light of the current societal and climate crises. More than 520,000 people resigned in France in the first quarter of 2022, i.e. 2.5% of the population. This is the highest percentage observed since the 2008 crisis.

There would therefore be a link between crisis situations and accelerated personnel movements on the labor market. After a contention of the labor market, numerous job opportunities would become available but many low-paying or low-skilled jobs would no longer find takers. Thus, more than 42% of under 35 years old would consider leaving their job to give new perspectives to their career. According to the BVA survey, and a representative sample of 5,162 people, "loss of meaning" is the most shared reason (27%), followed by "dissatisfaction" due to working conditions (23%), pay (22%) and too much pressure (20%). Journalistic commentary refers to the "Great Quit" with a shudder and seeks reassurance that it is all relative.

But, this is nothing compared to the situation of different European countries. Countries like Germany or England are approaching or exceeding 5%. In the USA, which was a forerunner of the movement, 4.3 million employees have resigned. The turnover rate has risen to 2.9%, half a point above its pre-pandemic level. In real terms, this means 20 million employees who don't want to go back to the office after the pandemic, or who are experiencing burn-out or simply want to change their lives and find more meaning. The labor market would tend to become more fluid at the same time as alternative lifestyles and habitats are invented in the form of "cabanization" or "zone to defend".

The situation of tension in the labor market creates opportunities for employees already in place, further exacerbated by a demographic dip in one age group, likely in turn to accentuate more resignations. These resignations occur in a dynamic labor market, since six months later, on average, resigners have already found a job, even if the jobs are not always up to expectations. This is why companies are required to develop an HR offer that goes beyond the minimum of the "employer brand" and to take into consideration new relationships to time, the flexibility of telecommuting, the desire in particular of skilled workers to fully realize themselves in their jobs.

For thephilosopher Julia De Funès,the covid has reversed the order of priorities. Each individual cloistered in their home experienced accommodating their work to their life, rather than their life to their work. This context, where work penetrated intimacy, has allowed for the massive generation of new reference points, which are perhaps at the heart of the current implicit renegotiations regarding work relationships, less considered as part of one's social status and more as an activity among others in one's life. The practical and lasting consequence will perhaps be a more fluid labor market or else a shift from a vision of a contractual relationship to a transitional one, i.e., work considered as a stage of life among others but less central than in the traditional vision.

There is therefore likely to be an increase in the number of employers in a lifetime (10 to 15), and a more dynamic HR management in flow rather than in stock and probably a tension on wages. We are also seeing a return to a discourse on commitment rather than motivation and the extra soul expected from managers or employees to capture that part of the value of work that is less and less easily described in an employment contract. In the era of a quaternary society centered on individual and collective knowledge, which is largely invisible, the drift of this approach has been denounced, in particular the emotional dependence it entails.

Consequences and questions for training

In this context training also has a role to play. The proportion of employee-initiated training departures accepted by the company will probably increase. It could well be an indicator of additional freedom granted by the employer to its employees.

The requirement for quality training and meaning for oneself and one's own evolution will also be in order. It is no longer a question of experiencing a training course not chosen at the initiative of the employer who rehashes banalities to make the latest reorganization swallow. It is expected that training will be a real tool to evolve not only in one's career but in one's life. Training is then interested in transitions and not only in know-how.

In the post-covid situation, the relationship between employer and employee changes the point of balance in training departures. Training is hoped to contribute to self-transformation. Opportunistically, companies are developing training offerings to accompany dreams of reconversion, for example by playing on self-marketing and making the promise of greater visibility on social networks Of course, MOOCs and online offerings have their place to play.

A prepared reconversion has a better chance of succeeding than a departure on a whim. Skills assessment or mid-career assessment schemes are proving very useful and will probably have an increasingly important role to play. For the French situation, according to the France Compétences study, 67% of working people who have made a voluntary career change have used coaching, and 58% have used training. Only 15% did not use either of these two approaches.

Finally, new drivers for learning are emerging in connection with transitions so that these trainings are in line with concrete projects as in the proposal of Managers and Territories, or on the basis of common interest projects that companies can propose.

Of course everything developed in this text remains to be relativized according to the type of job and the levels of remuneration, with many employees already seeking to satisfy primary functions. These transformations raise considerable questions for companies, which will have to share more power over the organization of their employees' time and lives.

Sources

DARES. Is France experiencing a big resignation? https://dares.travail-emploi.gouv.fr/publication/la-france-vit-elle-une-grande-demission

BFMTV 520,000 employees resigned at the beginning of the year the first time this has happened in nearly 15 years https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/plus-de-520-000-salaries-ont-demissionne-en-debut-d-annee-du-jamais-vu-depuis-pres-de-15-ans_AV-202208190185.html

Radio Classique Great resignation in France 42% of those under 35 are considering leaving their jobs
https://www.radioclassique.fr/societe/grande-demission-en-france-42-des-moins-de-35-ans-envisagent-de-quitter-leur-emploi/ < The Great Quit a phenomenon that could affect France
https://recruteur.lefigaro.fr/article/la-grande-demission-un-phenomene-qui-pourrait-toucher-la-france/#

Marie France The Great Quit https://www.mariefrance.fr/actualite/grande-demission-formation-marketing-digital-640052.html

Training management. 25% of working people have undergone retraining in the last 5 years https://www.managementdelaformation.fr/la-formation-en-chiffres/2022/02/09/25-des-actifs-ont-suivi-une-reconversion-ces-5-dernieres-annees/amp/

Julia De Funès: "You have to do everything to not go back to the way you were" - Courrier Cadres
http://courriercadres.com/management/julia-de-funes-il-faut-tout-faire-pour-ne-pas-revenir-comme-avant-19082021

Richard Sennett. Work Without Quality - https://www.decitre.fr/livres/le-travail-sans-qualites-9782226115010.html

Managers and Territories https://www.managers-et-territoires.org

Career and Ambition Brief - Thot Cursus - https://cursus.edu/fr/dossiers/5997/carriere-et-ambition