Before the pandemic, “Rise and Grind” was your standard work / life motto. People just went along working as hard as they could, staying in jobs for the paycheques, because that’s just what you did. It was standard to have a 30-60 minute commute each day to the office and rush hour traffic was a part of your day-to-day routine that you suffered through. Now that people have gone through the pandemic and the stay at home orders that came with it, a lot of feedback from workers is that their values and perception of a work life has changed. This has led to “The Great Resignation” or “The Big Quit”, as economies are emerging from the pandemic in 2021. The real estate industry is not exempt from The Big Quit.

With mind sets shifting away from the “rise and grind” culture of the past, workers are favouring companies that support the same values with better work / life balance. We see a lot of undervalued employees reaching out to us for better opportunities and income that is more aligned with market value. They are looking for employers that are flexible with working from home during the week and better vacation time.

Recently Meghan McCain from ABC ‘s “The View” left the show after nearly four years. Her main reason for quitting:  “Covid-19 has changed the world for all of us,” she told The Guardian. “It’s changed the way I’m looking at my life, the way I’m living my life, the way I want my life to look like.” Her sentiment resonated with many viewers who feel the same. Being isolated during lockdowns gave most people the chance to reflect on what was truly important in life. Most people are now looking to spend more time with family and loved ones. This means there is a lot of early retirement or workers shifting to companies that offer more flexibility on vacation time and work from home

Value your employees and the return will be tenfold. It’s truly that simple. To be clear, when we say appreciate your employees, we don’t just mean throwing them an office potluck every couple of months. Ultimately, if you view the relationship as one where you work for your employees, and not the other way around, the myriad ways in which you can show them their worth will suddenly be very clear.

Forbes has summed up the impact of The Big Quit and you can continue reading more in this article https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2021/07/23/older-workers-and-the-big-quit/?sh=6af717a3e476