Nobody Wants to Work (For You) Anymore
“Nobody wants to work anymore, not even for a lot of money.”
This is what my boss had to say about me, behind my back of course, after I decided to finally quit my toxic job. To my face there was a lot of “this is so shocking, you are so valuable to us, this is so difficult for us” and other forms of guilt-tripping coated in backhanded flattery.
This phrase has been circulating the world for as long as entitled employers have been able to speak. High turnover rates rarely, if ever, occur at businesses people enjoy working for.
But I’ll admit it — there is some truth to this statement!
Nobody wants to work anymore… for a greedy company that doesn’t pay them enough.
Nobody wants to work anymore… at a toxic workplace that deteriorates their mental and physical health.
Nobody wants to work anymore… at dead-end jobs that offer no opportunities for internal promotion or career advancement.
Nobody wants to work anymore… for a leadership of controlling, nitpicking, toxic micromanagers.
Employers are screaming about the consequences of the Great Resignation, but all the data shows that most workers who quit usually already have another job lined up. The most common advice you’d get if you have a job you want to leave, but you’re not quite ready yet, is to wait it out until you find a new employer. Life is only getting more challenging for us non-essential NPCs and living is expensive, people refuse to make irrational moves with their finances.
So if you’re a business owner and your employee just handed over their resignation, instead of jumping headfirst into blame and panic mode, ask yourself these important questions:
- What happened at the workplace that might have caused this employee to quit?
- What can I do to ensure a better work environment and keep valuable team members happy to stay in their position?
- Does this person have a new job and if yes, what is it about the new offer that is better than what I have to provide for them?
- Where can I, as a leader and my business improve to meet employee criteria and do we hold up to market standards for our industry?
Sometimes a good employee would leave for entirely personal reason like relocation, pursuing education or health concerns. Focus on things that are in your control as an employer, don’t try to privy too much into people’s personal lives. If your team member feels comfortable discussing those things with you and is willing to find a solution that fits both parties you can ask for more details. Otherwise, keep it professional and part ways on a good note, for the sake of your good reputation. Don’t be like the egotistical boss who gave me 4 weeks of the silent treatment during meetings because I refused to accept his counteroffer. It’s childish, petty and displays an overall poor character. This grown up version of a toddler temper tantrum didn’t keep me working there, but it definitely reaffirmed I made the right decision to leave
To give you the tl;dr: employees quit either for better jobs, or to somehow improve their quality of life.
“No, people are lazier these days!”
You’re older, you have more experience, you’ve managed a business for decades. And you know that kids these days are lazy and prefer spending all of their time on TikTok rather than actually working.
Firstly, I’ll invite you to read one of the most popular stories here on Medium on laziness so you can inform yourself before you pass judgement on other people’s character.
Then let me give you a rundown on some of the main real reasons why nobody wants to work anymore, and why it rarely has anything to do with an employee’s motivation and work ethic:
“Must be under 26 with a PhD and 8 years of work experience” 🤡
Do we even need to get into the details of this one?
I was fresh out of university looking for internships, junior or assistant teaching positions. Applying left and right to every school and education facility I could find (and there weren’t many opportunities to begin with) I was faced with two major obstacles:
- I was a new graduate with no work experience in the field and nobody wanted to give me a chance.
- I was a “nobody” and employers prefer hiring people based on familiarity rather than credentials.
Don’t even try arguing that the second thing isn’t true, as if promoting people based on personal sympathies rather than job performance isn’t one of the main contributors to incompetent management. I’m not claiming I’m entitled to a position simply because I’m educated for it (but then what’s the point of investing time and resources in higher education if it doesn’t even give you a competitive edge while job hunting?) I’m saying I got rejection after rejection for entry-level positions before I could even land an interview. There’s obviously something incredibly broken about our system if young people are trained to do jobs they’re immediately disqualified from working because they lack experience. When you’ve just graduated and looking to get started on your career path, what can you do when even unpaid internships require previous years of employment and a set of high-value skills?
My solution? I started working in unrelated fields and built completely different skills. I had no friends in high places, so I wasn’t even considered, despite the fact I spent years in university and graduated with excellent grades. All that time spent on education when I could have worked instead… But wait! I need an education to get a job! But the jobs require experience, not just education! The cycle continues, rinse and repeat…
“Must be able to wear multiple hats at once”
Codeword for “you’ll do the work of multiple people for the salary of one”. At my last job I was a webmaster, copywriter, graphic designer and translator, something social media manager, oftentimes whatever I was needed to do. Everyone is grateful how you’re able to adapt so quickly and do so many things at once… until you say you’re burnt out and need a break. Or God forbid — a pay raise! Don’t even consider suggesting they hire another person to do some of your tasks.
“Must be fully devoted to the company”
Another fun thing management said in a group chat shortly before I quit was “We will no longer work with people who put their personal lives above the company’s interests.” Translated from corporate babble this means “we expect you to sacrifice all of your free time to us, if you wish to keep your job.” And that’s exactly what they wanted from people when they said that. They posted pictures of employees on their desks late after midnight and praised people for sleeping at the office. An employee brought their daughter overnight to stay at the office and they spent it half working, half sleeping on their chairs.
Maybe this is an extreme example, but it’s a very real one that I personally witnessed, and I’ve read enough workplace horror stories online to know instances like this are not a rarity.
Anyone seasoned enough at job hunting is aware that phrases such as “we are one big family” are a massive red flag. If you see a job posting advertising like that or get told something of this caliber at a job interview — RUN! Unless you’re okay with the fact that the boundary between your professional and personal life will be continuously violated.
People learned that there’s no point in giving your all for companies that will mercilessly drop them off without much warning if it suits their needs. Look after yourself and your best interest because a corporation surely won’t.
“Will pay a competitive salary!” *proceeds to pay less than average
Newsflash: people work for money! Bosses are motivated by profits and employees are motivated by salaries and bonuses.
Naturally, money isn’t the only motivation, but it’s always a factor and everyone is striving to work, at a bare minimum, a livable wage. As I mentioned earlier, life is getting more and more expensive and people are not willing to work 40+ hours weekly to barely pay their rent and bills.
But there’s more to it than just the salary! What about paid time off, health insurance, retirement funds, vouchers or any other benefits? Maximizing company profits by cutting down on employee bonuses is a surefire way to guarantee you’ve got a disgruntled workforce who spends their lunch break browsing Indeed and LinkedIn, looking for a way out.
“We expect everyone to be at the office because we value real life communication”
Pushing for back to office is a whole separate topic I’ll address in detail another day. Amidst worldwide lockdowns many of us switched entirely to home office arrangements. It turned out to not only be incredibly convenient, but cheaper and some of us are even more productive than ever! No distractions, I get to sit on a comfortable chair, eat a homecooked lunch, and all my tasks are complete on time because when I’m not showing my face I have to show up with performance. AND my house is clean on weekdays! 😅
Surely this isn’t a universal solution that applies to every profession and varies from person to person, but for me remote work has skyrocketed my productivity and improved my mental health. The rigid insistence for all employees to return to office… just to sit in a cubicle and do tasks that can be done remotely, is ridiculous. Companies should be more flexible in their approach, if the industry and type of work allows it, managers should give team members the opportunity to choose whether or not they want to work from home or at the office. Team events and important meetings understandably require on-site participation, but telling people they must show up at least 3 days a week just because is a funny way to say “I paid for this office and I need to earn back what I invested.” Your employees don’t owe you for your poor investment decisions. 🤷
There’s also a noticeable coat of micromanagement in back to office demands. Controlling bosses don’t trust their remote employees are working hard enough because they can’t observe them. This has lead to implementing spyware software that tracks cursor movements and takes desktop screenshots to track what people are doing at any given moment. Such blatantly invasive practices are beyond unnecessary and the need for them can be rectified by clearly delegating tasks and performance expectations. If leadership is incapable of efficiently distributing work and is unclear with instructions, a return to office will only make your employees confused about work demands AND grumpy after spending 30 minutes stuck in traffic.
The state of the world as is since 2020 reflects in this massive shift in employee priorities, as people move away from simply seeking jobs for the sake of it. The Great Resignation is just one reminder for employers to introspect and address workplace issues that lead to turnover. Rather than blaming individuals for leaving, pointing fingers and citing laziness, organizations should focus on creating healthier work environments, offering competitive compensation packages, and respecting the work-life balance of their teams. Employees, especially younger Millennials and Gen Z, are seeking fulfilling and sustainable careers that honor their personal lives, individuality and align with their moral compass. The motto of these generations when it comes to jobs is “Act Your Wage” — do no more than what you’re being paid for. And I’m so glad people are setting their foot down and demanding better treatment! If employers are not willing to adapt to these evolving expectations to retain their workforce and succeed in the modern job market, then they better be prepared for even higher turnover rates and a shortage of people willing to devote every waking moment to a company.
Thanks for reading!
This post is part of my 45-Day Writing Challenge on Medium | Day 18
Check out more of my writing on Medium! 💌
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