The Great Resignation: Why U.S. Workers Are Burned Out and Quitting | Amanpour and Company

As the pandemic eases in some parts of the world, we’re seeing the so-called “great resignation:” 20 million people in the U.S. have quit their jobs since April, according to federal statistics. Jennifer Moss explains this phenomenon in her new book "The Burnout Epidemic," and speaks with Michel Martin about why this is a cultural, rather than an individual, problem.

Originally aired on October 29, 2021.

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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.

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[janswan]

maybe workers are sick of seeing the CEOs of the companies they work for become billionaires while they don't have a living wage - it is about time!

[DimaRakesah]

The attitude of "no one wants to work!" just shows what a problem we have. Our culture is so conditioned to assume people are lazy that we can work people to death and then think they are lazy when they can't take it anymore.

[carlosenriquez]

Tired of being treated like trash, crap benefits, crap pay, crap scheduling, corporations expecting loyalty while offering little in return. They say no money for raises while the shareholders and top brass sweat money. It's time to say goodbye to these bad companies and bad bosses.

[HapiGutHapiLife]

People are just tired of being tired, poor get poorer, rich get richer with no Mercy! It's all just totally Insane! Power to the people!

[muliefriend]

Everything runs in cycles…this is how unions came about. People are tired of being used as slaves.

[brianlipka]

My Mom was a nurse from 1970 to 2004. She wanted to retire from the State of Massachusetts with full pension. She did. After 30 years of nigh shift she was so burned out, she ended up with dementia and passed away without ever enjoying her golden years. That was a wake up call to me!

[nicolascagescameltoe]

Imagine being so chained by corporations that it has created a mentality that people wanting a work/life balance and acceptable working conditions, is considered being lazy and wanting to much?

[KevZen]

When your salary doesn't meet the cost of living, then you don't have much interest working the job.

[caesarq]

People are burnt out from modern life in general. Between work, family, debt, caregiving, taking care of the house, maybe school, the kids stuff. It just feels like it never ends and people never have time to focus on themselves

[Erik_The_Viking]

People are fed up with being mistreated in the workplace, horrible working conditions, being underpaid, overworked, and much more. This is a social problem - issues with child care, mental health, work-life balance, commuting, etc. Covid has given people a chance to reevaluate their lives and many have either decided "F this" and quit, or decide to do something else. I know several people who have decided to go on a new path, and they're much happier.

[JanelleSpeaks]

Its not just about work...its about life. Family; mental, physical and spiritual health. We weren't born to live like robots

[beautifulbull]

This generation has NOT "gone soft." If you look at the divorce rates, domestic violence rates, suicide rates, drug use/addiction rates, & percentage of people in debt, this has been going for years. Everyone has been stressed out & burned out for quite some time; the pandemic has simply lifted the veil on the pretty serious underlying issues that have ALWAYS been there. The reason for the insults thrown at the younger generations: 1) the people currently in power are nervous that their status in power is shifting & their power paradigm is being challenged, & 2) the older generations are agitated that the younger generations have the spine to stand up & challenge these outdated paradigms, that worked OK for a while but weren't great, & the integrity to not cover it up with passive aggressiveness & fake smiles, as has been done for decades. Welcome to the new age... LEAN. IN. 💪👊

[akc]

I'm a burned out teacher in the U.S. I switched grade levels, subject areas, school districts, went from regular ed to special ed, thinking it was me. Had to take breaks every few years to cope with the stress, but I kept going back. With Covid, I finally had to throw in the towel. The demands of the job are just insane now, and a "jeans day" on Fridays doesn't make a dent. Staying would have run me into the ground.

[Chulitatr]

People are fed up with working for SLAVE WAGES, overwork, and zero benefits; all while corporations make billions in money.

[bettysmith]

This is not a generational thing, this is a corporate greed thing! Over the last decade to decade and a half they have been expecting a single person to do the work of two people, and if you can do the work of two people, why not try you doing the work of three people.... etc.

[AdmiralBison]

FORGET THE WHOLE - left vs right, Democrats vs Republicans and red vs blue.
The truth is, it’s always been - top vs bottom, workers vs owners, the 1% vs you (us)

[Tyrell_Corp]

Think about this: My father retired in 1991 with a peak salary as a court officer making $55, 000 annually. By today's standards that is still about average despite the rise in the cost of living. Now compare that with the average CEO bonus and salaries since thirty years ago? America, we have a problem. It's called greed from the top.

[mikeconley]

Pay up or go broke.
A living wage for all is long overdue.

[drbassface]

People had been willing to work, because work used to provide for a home, car, healthcare, food, and savings/vacation.
NOW, even two incomes don’t provide for what your grandparents used to have with one wage earner.
Hopeless is the word for now.
Hopeless.
Why bother?

[Diomedes]

As someone who works in tech, I can tell you that one of the largest factors driving resignations in this sector is companies being stubborn about not allowing workers to continue to work from home. If it is one thing the pandemic taught us is that many individuals are just as productive working from home as they are in an office. Often times, more so. As a result, many of these people who have now gotten comfortable working from home are reluctant to go back to office work. The companies that are being smart and getting ahead of this are now snapping up these workers in droves as other companies with old school ways of thinking are left wondering what is going on.
Face it: we are in the midst of a paradigm shift right now and it is primarily being driven by individuals who want the comfort of working from home. Companies can either start being receptive to this, or they can stay in denial and watch their top talent head for the exits.