Aug. 2, 2023 "Is the Great Resignation back on? More workers planning to quit as pressures mount": Today I found this article by Victoria Wells on the Financial Post:
The rising cost of living coupled with dissatisfaction at work are prompting more Canadians to consider quitting their jobs — threatening to usher in a fresh wave of the so-called Great Resignation.
A greater number of Canadians are eyeing the exits at work this year, says PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s latest hopes and fears survey for 2023.
Close to a quarter of Canadian employees say they are very or extremely likely to quit their jobs and find new employment elsewhere within the next 12 months,
compared to only 16 per cent who said the same last year.
A deep sense of unfulfillment seems to be driving some of those intentions, and among workers planning to quit, only 47 per cent say they find a sense of purpose in their jobs.
That’s a big difference from those who don’t plan to quit, of which 57 per cent say their work is “fulfilling.”
In another sign of dissatisfaction, many of those considering new opportunities also feel they can’t show who they really are at work compared to those who plan to stay put, the survey said.
That comes as a higher cost of living squeezes paycheques, leaving fewer people with money left over at the end of the month and forcing some to take on multiple jobs.
Globally, one in five people work more than one job and 69 per cent say they do so because they need the extra money, PwC said.
Canadians are feeling the pain, too.
Forty-two per cent say they have nothing left to save after paying their bills each month,
while 14 per cent have trouble paying those bills in the first place.
But the stress doesn’t end there.
Most Canadian employees complain they’re being overworked as well,
and only 22 per cent said their workloads were “manageable” over the past year.
If that wasn’t enough to contend with, the rise of generative artificial intelligence is piling on a whole new set of pressures on employees, and many don’t seem to realize what they’re up against.
Most Canadian workers aren’t considering the impact of AI on their jobs,
and less than half are even thinking about the skills they’ll need as the technology takes hold in the next few years.
But PwC said AI will absolutely require employees to adapt and learn new skills — a difficult task if they’re worried about making ends meet.
The survey said those struggling financially are less likely to seek out new skills at work or ask for feedback to improve their overall performance
compared to those who aren’t worried about money.
That’s cause for concern for employers, PwC said, because CEOs are actively seeking ways to transform their businesses to succeed in the AI age.
But that won’t be possible if employees are so stressed they can’t adapt to the new working environment.
As a result, workers might find themselves out of a job completely as businesses are forced to shutter.
Indeed, close to 40 per cent of executives think their companies may not be able to survive the next 10 years, a separate PwC survey of CEOs said.
Kathy Parker, partner and National Workforce of the Future consulting leader at PwC Canada said in a press release that executives will need to invest in workers if they want their organizations to be a going concern.
Those investments include addressing employees’ feelings of overwork and stress over money so they are in the proper headspace to learn new skills, the survey said.
“We must be thoughtful in creating the right environment for employees,” Parker said.
“It is crucial to offer meaningful work,
ways for them to connect in meaningful ways,
along with ways to build future-proof skills.”
They're raising the price of everything. There's no reason you shouldn't raise your own too.
pack it in before you die. and then you will meet your maker.
New taxes coming. Tax increases coming. Merit, hard work, investment no longer valued. Productivity and success punished, unearned and indicative of systemic inequity (per the popular narrative).
All this and mandates? And freezing bank accounts? And $40B+ in CERB overpayments not worth it for CRA to chase down? Lol. More and more taxpayers are checking out.
You're getting exactly the country you've been voting for, Central and Atlantic Canada (and BC!). Enjoy your obvious future.
Oct. 20, 2023 "The Great CEO Resignation is here: Executive departures hit record high": Today I found this article by Jo Constantz on the Financial Post:
For most workers, the so-called Great Resignation is over. For CEOs, it’s just ramping up.
More than 1,400 chief executives have left their positions so far this year through September, according to a report by executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
That’s up almost 50 per cent from the same period last year and the highest on record over that period since the firm began tracking in 2002.
The firm’s data includes CEO exits at United States-based companies with at least 10 employees and at least two years in business, tallied from news reports, press releases and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Much has been written about how burnout surged during the pandemic as workers faced a series of stressors and uncertainties while navigating the global health crisis.
Those feelings of exhaustion may now be catching up to executives, even as the overall quit rate in the U.S. drifts back towards its pre-pandemic normal.
“Any CEO or chief HR officer in my world that I talk to says that the pandemic and responding to the pandemic was one of the — if not the most — stressful experiences of their working lives,” said Alexander Kirss, senior principal in the human resources practice at consulting firm Gartner Inc.
“They not only had to navigate their organizations through the pandemic
from a strategic perspective,
but also from a human perspective.”
The government and nonprofit sector topped the list for CEO turnover,
with more than 350 leaving their posts this year,
up more than 85 per cent over the same period last year.
The technology sector saw the second-highest churn rate, with
more than 140 CEOs abandoning the boardroom,
up almost 50 per cent from last year.
While the overall U.S. workforce is shrinking as more baby boomers reach retirement age, that’s not the only reason behind the exodus, according to the report. About 22 per cent of all CEO exits were retirements, down slightly from the 24 per cent who retired last year.
While there was no reason given for almost a third of CEO departures, another 17 per cent reportedly stepped down into other C-suite, board or advisory roles.
Other reasons provided to Challenger include an interim period coming to an end or leaders choosing to pursue fresh opportunities.
Challenger attributes much of the churn to an economy in flux. “Companies are revving up for economic changes in the coming months.
With the rise of labor costs and interest rates, companies are looking to new leaders,”
Andrew Challenger, a senior vice president at the firm, said in the report.
Kirss isn’t surprised by the Challenger report’s outcome.
“Historically, we tend to see lower CEO turnover during moments of uncertainty.
That was true during the Great Recession,
it was also clearly true during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kirss.
CEOs often stay put out of a sense of responsibility and, at the same time, boards of directors tend to prefer the stability of a steady hand on the wheel.
But the moment has changed, Kirss said. “Many observers, myself included, we’ve been expecting this post-pandemic uptick in CEO turnover, and it looks to have finally arrived.”
Turnover at the top might continue or even accelerate, Kirss said, now that we’re out of the pandemic and boards of directors are looking at CEO performance
as businesses struggle to achieve profitability
amid continuing inflation
and economic uncertainty.
To a certain degree, some of these choices may be contagious, he said:
“CEOs and board directors are social creatures. They see increased turnover, particularly amongst their competitors, and they might feel pressure to consider a change of their own.”
In my experience (10) most (new) CEO's are hell bent on making a change to the organization, vision/mission, in spite of the existing company structure actually working well.
Hoping the change will define them, set them apart, or simply to justify the hire. They typically hire some of their own "yes" people and that can turn a tire fire into a dumpster fire.
During periods of vacancies, it seems to be running fine, then when poorly placements happen, hubris seems to set in.
Maybe a new management technique will be for senior management to get along, actually figure it out and keep a company functioning without the need of a referee or change manager.
Granted if a company is floundering, then sure do something.
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