The great escape is here. In April of 2021. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the highest level of people leaving the workforce, ever recorded, 2.7%. This is in contrast to perceptions from 2020 When people were concerned about preserving their jobs. But now as we’re most of the country is getting ready to return to work. A lot of people decided that’s not for them.
Early Retirement
Many people during the pandemic got comfortable with the schedule that they had working from home. The idea of returning to an office just isn’t appealing. And so they’re evaluating what’s important in deciding. Maybe they don’t need to go to the office anymore. Maybe it’s time to retire. Or maybe they’ll scale back, do something closer to home and work less hours. For others, maybe this is just the time to escape the nine to five. They know what it’s like to work from home, they like it, and they want to continue doing it,
The Best Great Escape Approach
The jobs are still gonna be there even if they leave them. So it’s just a matter of finding the right companies that match their skills that allow them to continue to work the way that they want to work. There is no exact breakdown is between these groups. Companies that offer flexible remote jobs are more likely to attract more talent than those that don’t. Companies that don’t account for the impact the pandemic has had are going to lose people to the great escape, one way or another.
Impact on Women
Women have also left the workforce in higher numbers. Many women got so used to the expectations of the corporate world, taking the kids to daycare, and then picking them up at the end of the day that they didn’t think there was any other way. With the pandemic daycare didn’t exist. And suddenly they found themselves back in the traditional role that women have played in most households for 1000s of years. Many have decided that that’s where they want to be. Some were forced into that role whether they wanted it or not. This has taken many women out of the workforce that didn’t have the option to work from home. Blue collar jobs that were traditionally held by women disappeared overnight.
There is no right or wrong answer to the path people take on their great escape. Ideally it should be of their own choosing. But the fact remains that the pandemic has changed how we work. People have had a chance to see things differently than they had in the past, and now they’re looking for options.
