The Not-So-Great Resignation for me. How was it for you?

 

There are likely thousands of different factors which motivated people to leave their jobs during the so-called “Great Resignation” over the past eighteen months.  Whether it be COVID-19 itself or related stress, boredom with their current roles, or just a desire to move to new or better opportunities, people left their jobs in record numbers in 2021.   I was one of them.

My stated motivating factors were to take an early retirement with the intent of extending my volunteer project roles as well as to make progress on some family projects that my brother and I have been pursuing.   While my logic was positive and solid on the surface, upon deeper reflection, I’ve found there were other factors in play which drove my ultimate decision to change course.  My need for reflection was precipitated by the profound sense of loss I experienced several months after leaving the program management role I’d been in for many years. 

Upon examination, I understood that many of the key drivers which led me to leave had to do with COVID-19 restriction negatives rather than the perceived positives listed above.  My core job satisfaction motivators have always been tied to all the great people I worked directly with daily.  The personal interactions and relationship building were not aspects I consciously focused on but were central to the fabric of my career enjoyment. 

Nearly all direct interaction was removed in March 2020, replaced by an endless string of group video calls.  Over several months, COVID restrictions eventually wore down my enthusiasm to a point where, job isolation extracted all the joy from my work.   Known throughout my career for my persistence in seeing through long, grinding projects, this persistence was apparently no match for the mind-numbing power of the pandemic.  Where before, I was constantly buoyed by the knowledge that I was always a part of a team, I now found no joy in essentially working in isolation.  Tasks quickly became strictly wrote.  By late 2020, with no end in sight to office and travel restrictions, I knew it was time for a change culminating in my departure in March 2021.

In retrospect, I’m grateful I had the opportunity to change course and do some different things that weren’t available to me a few years ago, but also aware that the career cost to me was high.  I’m sure not everyone was as fortunate.  I’m very interested to hear of your motivations for joining the “Great Resignation.”  What was your key driver for making a change and once you did, did you discover that other factors were at play as well?