The Labor Department reported on Jan. 4 that 4.53 million people quit their jobs in November, breaking a record set in September and part of an almost year-long trend that has been dubbed the “Great Resignation.” You might be tempted to join them: In July, Gallup found that 48 percent of U.S. workers were actively job-hunting or keeping an eye out for opportunities, a situation the polling organization labeled the “Great Discontent.”
As a psychologist, I’ve seen that discontent reflected in my practice. Many of my patients have been doing much more soul-searching about their jobs than before the coronavirus blew up our lives.
Some, especially women, are deciding that carrying on with their jobs is not sustainable or worthwhile during the pandemic’s upheaval. This is consistent with statistics indicating there were about 2.3 million fewer women in the workforce in February 2021 than a year earlier, and about 1.8 million fewer men.
…