This is according to Wesley Field, the provincial manager for the Consolidated Employers' Organisation in the Free State and Northern Cape.

Field explained to the OFM Business Hour that the ‘great resignation’ is a phenomenon or movement that started during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which employees leave their workplaces in great numbers, owing to varied factors. He says remote working really changed the game for many employees worldwide, especially those for whom job satisfaction was low.

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Field suggests that in reaction to the 'great resignation', employers should:

1. Quantify their employee turnover rate and gauge where they stand.

2. Identify the root causes of employee resignation in their businesses/companies.

3. Design retention plans.

Listen to more of Wesley’s insights in the podcast below:

Previously on the show, Professor Renata Schoeman, the head of the MBA in Healthcare Leadership Programme at the Stellenbosch University Business School, touched on the ‘great resignation’ adding that mental wellness in the workplace has become even more important in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Schoeman, who is also a psychiatrist by profession, says the return on investment for each rand a business spends on mental health, is easily R3 to R8. This is due to turnover being linked to employee satisfaction.

Covid-19 has also highlighted how backward measuring productivity according to “hours spent in seat”, as opposed to actual output, is.

She adds that creating flexibility will attract younger employees, because “this is what they want”.

OFM