24 Jun The Great Resignation
Dear Corporate World:
We’ve been working a schedule based on post-WWII era policies for seven decades now.
But, YAWN, we’re, well, over it. (We’ll pretend to work on your exhibits A-Z to support this, as well as a minimum of 10 scheduled meetings to discuss.)
We cozied up to a glowing screen for a minimum of 8 hours (despite research saying this is inefficient and unproductive).
And we adopted the same language (a.k.a. "corporate speak") that no one else on the planet seems to understand.
We even all dawned the same outfit.
Thank you at least for implementing “business casual” (for fashion’s sake, if nothing else).
You luckily gave us a jug of water to hang out at. Ahh, refreshing!
And when that got old, you gave us a ping-pong table!
That was cool, I must admit… though briefly.
We had babies… like seriously, ask any mother on the planet how her efficiency rate quadrupled after childbirth. We still have never understood how you side-lined some of your most efficient workers EVER (but that’s another story/letter, for another time).
You let us escape for one, maybe two, weeks a year.
And you created fun games, like the longer you could sit, the more money you got! A test of endurance! (though a humane test with our ergonomic chairs)
Those who have ADHD… I’m so sorry. This was a tough generation (or two).
We thought you were cutting edge! THE latest and greatest… the tech world and Wall Street yet…
Little did we know, those quiet scientists and academics were amassing some amazing stats (we’re sorry for ignoring you). Increasing studies over the last decade have found:
- The Modern Organization Sabotages Productivity, https://hbr.org/2018/12/the-case-for-the-6-hour-workday
- The ability to move and exercise throughout the day sparks innovation and creativity. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/well/exercise-creativity.html
- Sitting for hours on end is hazardous to our health.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/the-dangers-of-sitting - The eight-hour (vs five or six) workday does not equate to greater productivity.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/10/five-hour-workday-shorter-book - Flexibility creates happier more productive workers. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2016/01/15/why-a-flexible-worker-is-a-happy-and-productive-worker/?sh=65842a4214c4
We’re over it. (Or as our Gen Z teenagers would say: “It’s cancelled.”)
We’ve had decades of AMAZING experience, both work and life.
We’ve built you into multi-million-dollar corporations.
And with age, comes a no-bullshit, fearless attitude.
We declare... The Great Resignation.
Because we KNOW how to run a business.
And how to actually have fun and fulfillment while doing it.
And now it’s OUR time.
The Wall Street Journal reported that more U.S. workers are quitting their jobs now than at any time in the last 20 years.
Now, in all reality…
Do I think there is a complete mass exodus of the workforce? No.
But do I think it’s a time of great re-evaluation of our priorities and values? Yes.
And do I believe there is no better generation poised to pave the way for a new way of working? Absolutely.
My advice?
It’s a time when stepping out of your comfort zone is a NORM.
A time to start telling the story you WANT to be telling, not what society wants you to tell.
A time to pursue a path of fulfillment and of value.
Sincerely,
GEN X
The Entrepreneurial bad-asses
(Previously known as the “lost generation,” now found)
PS – I can’t take credit for the fabulous term “The Great Resignation”; credit goes to Anthony Klotz, of Texas A&M University, for coining the term in a recent interview with Bloomberg interview.
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