39% of people would rather quit than go back into the office, data says
The National Desk's Angela Brown takes a look at a new trend - employees quitting rather than return to the office. (KTVL)
WASHINGTON (SBG) - Would you quit your job if your boss would not let you work from home? Millions of Americans are thinking about doing just that, after spending the year out of the office because of the pandemic.
A May survey found that 39% would consider quitting their job if their employee was not flexible about letting them work from home.
“We may be on the cusp of seeing a lot of resignations,” said Texas A&M Professor Anthony Klotz.
Portia Twidt walked away from her job after being told she would only have to come to the office for meetings, only for the meetings to start happening more often.
“I came to the office and realized I spent more time getting kids ready, dropping the kids off than the actual meeting,” said Twidt.
Professor Klotz says there are four trends causing people to resign: voluntary quits were down last year, the debt level decreased for many families, people adjusted to working from home, and for others, the pandemic brought about a life epiphany. All may lead to people wanting to make a career change now.
“People have stayed put in a job they would have otherwise quit and so once that uncertainty improves... they then enact their plans to quit,” said Professor Klotz.
In April 2021, 4 million people quit their jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - the highest number in 12 months.
While over a third of people say they would quit their job according to Morning Consult/Bloomberg Poll, that number is even higher among millennials and gen Z at 49%.
“I'm a millennial who believes we can combine work and life and have beautiful balance using technology we have today but unfortunately, some of our older colleagues think, if I can't see you, you are not working,” said Twidt.
