In the United States, the idea recently arose that the corona pandemic has led to a great resignation (also “the Big Quit”). Many workers would have changed jobs voluntarily or would want to change jobs soon since COVID.
To what extent do we find traces of this in Belgium? Jobsite StepStone & KU Leuven conducted a study with 1100 respondents to find out whether COVID has influenced not only job application behavior but also the perception of work.
More than half (53%) of workers who were temporarily unemployed during the corona crisis are looking for another job. Also noteworthy: 6 out of 10 respondents – even those who were not temporarily unemployed – feel less happy and less enthusiastic about their work since the pandemic. And that is precisely why they want to change jobs.
Many want a different job and have even applied for it already
One thing is immediately clear: COVID has affected the way we work and deal with work. Almost one in two (47%) of the respondents indicated that the corona crisis had made them conclude that they wanted another job. In addition, no less than 43% even indicated that they had actually applied for other jobs because of the crisis. Whether they effectively changed jobs was not asked.
The desire to change jobs was slightly higher among two specific demographic groups, namely the 35–44-year-olds (58%) and among respondents who had once been temporarily unemployed (53%) because of corona.
For the first group, perhaps the fact that they are looking for new promotion opportunities after a career of several years and that their chances of finding work are also higher because of their age – compared to the older categories; for the second group, perhaps the uncertainty that accompanied temporary unemployment during the covid crisis, could have been an influence.
Job satisfaction, work/life balance & workload got worse for many employees
The respondents were also asked whether the corona crisis had changed aspects such as learning at work, security and salary, but also the perception of work in a positive or negative sense. The results show that these evolved remarkably negatively.
The group of respondents who thought their work characteristics had deteriorated, was always larger than the group who noticed an improvement:
- A worsening of contacts with colleagues according to 63%
- A worsening of contacts with superiors according to 49%
- Worsening of the workload according to 48%.
- Worse balance between work and private life according to another 48% (partly due to the blurring between work and private life by, for example, home working).
However, the deterioration was more general than that: strikingly, people also reported that the extent to which they can use their own abilities at work deteriorated (according to 53%), while opportunities for additional learning at work also got worse (according to 50%). For promotion and career opportunities, as well, 39% reported a deterioration. Only for salary did a majority (66%) report no change.
On virtually every front, respondents experienced a deterioration since the start of the corona crisis. It is therefore not surprising that almost 45% said that their work as a whole had deteriorated, compared to 33% who said it had stayed the same, and 22% who noticed an improvement.
A poorer experience at work, as well: more unhappy and tired employees
The less favorable quality of work is also associated with a less favorable perception of work. A majority (65%) reported being less happy at work since the start of the corona crisis, and 58% have been less enthusiastic about work since then. About 48% are less satisfied with work, and 58% reported that fatigue at work had increased.
Why do people suddenly want to change jobs now?
An impact because of COVID is thus clearly noticeable among the respondents, but what are the underlying causes behind the decision & wish to change jobs? By means of regression analyses, it was investigated which aspects are related to the desire to look for a different job. This revealed two striking results:
Firstly, the desire to change jobs was not motivated by an increase in work stress or fatigue at work. Rather, employees want to leave because the work does not give them enough energy: the decrease in enthusiasm, satisfaction, and feelings of happiness at work were all strongly correlated with the desire to change jobs.
Secondly, it was then found that this decline in enthusiasm and satisfaction, among other things, was related to a deterioration in five aspects of the work experience:
- The work-life balance
- The extent to which one has agency and can take decisions at work
- The extent to which one can learn at work
- The contacts with the supervisor
- The chances of promotion
It is not only because the work-home balance deteriorated (e.g., by blurring the boundary between the two spheres) that respondents seek other work. The other aspects of their work, mentioned above, also became worse in terms of quality, making them want to change jobs.
The conclusion for employers is clear. To retain employees, they must ensure that the work remains sufficiently motivating and enthusiastic.
The latter can be done by paying attention to improving work content (such as increasing autonomy at work and learning opportunities), improving contacts with supervisors, and increasing promotion and career opportunities – in addition to ensuring a good work-life balance.
Methodology
This study was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Hans De Witte and Dr. Anahí Van Hootegem (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of KU Leuven – Research Group Work, Organizational & Personnel Psychology; WOPP-O2L) and Dr. Ilke Grosemans (Faculty of Psychology, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology of the Open University in Heerlen).
The data were collected through an online survey in February 2022, at the end of the fifth Corona wave in Belgium. Respondents were invited by StepStone via email.
A total of 1168 respondents participated in this survey (languages: 72% Dutch and 28% French). The sample was mainly highly educated (66.1% higher education degree). White-collar workers were overrepresented: 37% were white-collar workers of higher level or executives, 31.6% were middle level workers, 20% were lower-level workers (e.g. administrative support), and 11.1% were blue-collar workers. About 66.2% worked in the private sector, 24.5% in the public sector, and 2.3% were self-employed (6.7% answered “other”). 46.5% of respondents were men and 52.7% were women. Young people were slightly underrepresented (14.2% were under the age of 34); most respondents were between the ages of 35 and 54 (57.9%). The average age was 47 years.
Note that the number of respondents who want/seeking other work may have been over-represented in this sample because they were recruited through an organization/job site active in recruitment. Thus, the sample is not necessarily representative of the Belgian labor force.