Bored? Welcome to ‘The Great Detachment’. Chances are your co-workers and bosses are feeling the same way. Next time you’re at work, take a look around. Many of your peers are likely yearning for the door, but unfortunately, it’s barely ajar.
According to a recently released Gallup survey conducted in May, self-reported turnover risk hasn’t been this high since 2015. The survey, which gathered responses from over 19,800 adults, revealed that 51% of employees are either keeping an eye out for new job opportunities or actively job hunting. However, these ambitions are often stymied by an incredibly competitive and challenging job market, characterized by long and arduous application processes.
This situation leaves workers, particularly younger ones, feeling stuck in jobs they aren’t deeply invested in. While managers are often seen as a potential bridge to mend the fractured relationship between companies and employees, they themselves are frequently just as disengaged.
“Despite declines in engagement and higher expectations from employers, the cooling economic and job markets have trapped frustrated employees in their current situation,” said Ben Wigert, co-author of the Gallup report and director of research for Gallup’s workplace management practice, in an interview with Fortune. Younger employees, in particular, are more likely to be searching for new opportunities, possibly due to greater dissatisfaction or a desire for more leverage early in their careers.
This all means that those who might have taken advantage of the booming job market during the Great Resignation now find themselves feeling stagnant. They’re clocking in but mentally checking out. “While these frustrated employees may have left under previous market conditions, declines in hiring and increases in inflation substantially elevate the risk associated with changing jobs,” Wigert added. He referred to this new phase as the “Great Detachment.”
Reeling from the End of the Great Resignation
It’s no surprise that workers’ commitment to their employers is the lowest it’s been in nearly a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic, recent AI-related layoffs, and soaring corporate profits amidst sluggish wage growth have only reinforced the notion that employees are seen as expendable when push comes to shove.
The pandemic and a robust labor market provided people the opportunity to act on their existential questions, prompting many to leave for jobs that valued them more or at least paid them better. Now, the workforce is experiencing similar levels of disenchantment but feels too constrained to leave. This marks the new phase after the Great Resignation, termed the Great Detachment, characterized by pervasive disengagement from one’s job and a desire to leave constrained by a market that makes switching jobs seem virtually impossible, depending on the sector. The phenomenon of “quiet quitting,” or not going above and beyond in one’s job, naturally stems from this sense of boredom and the eroding relationship between employers and employees in the current workforce climate.
“The favorable job market created by the Great Resignation, and to an extent by the pandemic, reset what employees expect from their employer,” Wigert noted, referring to a sharp drop in employee engagement from record highs in early 2020. “Employees have much higher expectations for what a great job looks like after seeing others’ careers benefit greatly.” This change indicates that employees are becoming progressively less satisfied with their jobs and less committed to their employers.
The term quiet quitting garnered significant attention this past fall, but what was framed as employee slacking actually reflects a broader issue of managerial underperformance. Disengaged workers can be re-engaged with effective communication and a genuine commitment to change from their companies. “Pep rallies and empty promises will only further frustrate them,” Wigert emphasized. Two major reasons for the dip in engagement were employees feeling disconnected from their work’s mission and unclear expectations.
Unsurprisingly, low pay is another significant driver of workers’ desire to leave their jobs. According to a separate Gallup survey of 717 individuals who quit their jobs in the past year, additional benefits or compensation were the top potential factors that could have retained employees (at 30%). However, 70% of the other responses about what would have prevented employees from leaving fell under how they were managed daily, including more positive interactions with their manager (21%) and creating career advancement opportunities (11%).
What Companies Can Do to Turn It Around
All this turnover and ennui are avoidable. Of those who left their jobs in the past year, 42% said their manager or company could have done something to prevent their departure.
“Managers simply are not showing up for their employees,” Corey Tatel, co-author of the report and research associate at Gallup, told Fortune. He pointed to a lack of communication between dissatisfied employees and their bosses. Nearly half (45%) of those surveyed said they did not have a “constructive conversation” with their boss about their satisfaction or future in their job up to three months before they left.
“The foundation for engagement and retention is having an authentic relationship with your manager, which includes meaningful, two-way conversations on a regular basis,” Tatel added. Interestingly, managers themselves have the highest sentiment of wanting to leave (55% compared to 41% of leaders and 51% of individual contributors), according to the researchers. These middle managers are likely also feeling the squeeze as they deal with their team’s disenchantment as well as their own.
In conclusion, the Great Detachment reflects a broader issue within the workforce, where employees and managers alike are feeling disconnected and undervalued. Effective communication, genuine engagement, and fair compensation are crucial for reversing this trend and fostering a more committed and satisfied workforce.
