“Take This Job and Shove It”, is the title of the 1977 Country hit song by Johnny Paycheck and is the first lyric in the song. And continues with “I aint’ working here no more”. That song could be the anthem for millions of people that have quit their jobs this year. In what is being called “The great resignation” 

A Govea

A term that is credited to Texas A&Ms’ Anthony Lotz. According to a report on NPR, the labor department reported 4 million resignations in April alone. By June the number grew to over11.5 million. The resignation has affected all industries, but in particular the service industry, restaurants, hotels, entertainment, etc. The question most employers are asking “Pero Por Why” (but why). This coming off the worst recession in U.S. history. Which, of course, was fueled by the COVID Pandemic.

  Employers thought, as in past recessions, people would line up at dawn to apply for jobs. And guess what?  The quitting ain’t over yet. A recent survey of 30, 000 folks shows that 41% plan to quit. And when you narrow to Gen-Zs that number increases to 54%. I recently heard that a restaurant in Dallas had to replace staff with robot servers and hosts. Fortunately for us (humans) and maybe unfortunately for some employer’s we all can’t be replaced by robots. 

  As for the reason for the great exodus, they vary, but they do have one common thread. During the forced lockdown that millions of Americans experienced, they had time to think. And had time to feel and experience real time with their families. Not just on the way out to work or after an exhausting day at work and a long commute. Some took time to reexamine their career choices, life choices, and their place in this world. And when they did that, it resulted in millions realizing that living life on autopilot no longer worked. 

  Which led to some changing careers, rethinking two-income households and how that may affect their children. Many finally started that business they always dreamed of. Some started non-profits or discovered their real calling in life. In addition, since COVID has touched all of us. It increased a concern for their own mortality and their families. And it forced them to ask themselves, “What am I doing?” It is a real shame that it took a worldwide pandemic to give us the time to examine our lives. Pero (but) maybe now that we can see beyond our own noses, we can learn to serve each other. 

  Maybe we’ve learned that we don’t need to work 60-80 hours a week so we can buy more stuff. Which, of course, is not good for us or our planet. Porqua (because) as the story or maybe it’s a joke “I’ve’ never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul”. Or when asked, “How much did he leave? The answer is always “He left it all”