Research into why people are choosing not to return to work following the official end of the Covid 19 pandemic shows a range of motivations.
Conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, a new survey has found that 18% of employees have said nothing would compel them to return to workplaces.
Among those polled, 23% said that the jobs that are available are not in their field of work interest. Another 17% cited concerns over recent workplace requirements including vaccine mandates/lack of a mandate, mask wearing requirements as well as the lack of masking requirements.
Of those surveyed by SHRM, 12% said that they were not returning to their jobs because there are not enough opportunities to work remotely (either full-time, part-time or as needed).
Another 17% said they haven’t been able to find a job that pays enough for them to start working again and 9% said they have chosen to learn new work skills or want to pursue a different career path.
Among the workers who returned to work since the beginning of the pandemic and those who are unemployed but are not retired, 27% said they had mixed feelings about returning to work/possibly returning to work. On the other hand, 26% said they only felt positive emotions while 32% responded that they only felt negative emotions, and 15% claimed they felt indifferent.
When asked about what, if anything, would compel them to return to the workforce, 27% of all respondents who are not currently working said that if their savings ran out or ran low, it would motivate them to return.
“Our research findings provide a clearer picture and showcase a number of factors driving employees to think differently and more holistically about their lives as they consider returning to the workforce,” said SHRM Presiden Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. “As organizations look to the future, they are prioritizing efforts to focus on improving the talent challenges from the past year.”
