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Did you recently quit work or retire?
In my recent travels, I've seen a lot of signs saying "Now Hiring." Some offer sign-up bonuses.
Yesterday's news reported a drop in unemployment claims.
In a recent report, Rosenberg et al. (2021) reported 4.3 million Americans quit work in August--that's nearly 3% of the US labor force.
This phenomenon has been dubbed The Great Resignation. So, what's going on? It's a little early to say and according to Miller (2021), people offer a variety of reasons.
Some, of course, decided to retire during the worldwide 2020 pandemic when some were laid off.
Some have weighed the benefits of retiring early vs. later and decided the additional monthly income isn't worth the stress or they'd rather do something else with their time.
The Pandemic as Career Crisis
So many of us have had our lives significantly affected by the pandemic. I retired early because I wanted to enjoy life more than earn more money. I grew up with "World War II parents" so, being careful with expenses is a like a character trait--"Always live below your means" has been a helpful principle. Pandemics, wars, and other life-threatening tragedies can nudge people to thinking about a meaningful life. Psychologists have studied reactions to threats documented by research into Terror Management Theory.
Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed by psychological scientists Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski. The theory posits that people manage the terror inherent in their awareness of their own death by investing in that which is more durable. They experience conflict between the instinctual urge to live and the reality of death. See Suttonpsychology
A Meaningful Life
No doubt, many will return to work in the near future. And many will create an anxiety buffer to cope with feelings of unease about their situation.
Even those struggling to manage debt and expenses due to a variety of reasons may consider what they would rather do to pay the bills and live with at least a little less stress.
In a way, I suppose my decision to write Living Well was part of my own quest. I was published in 2019, the year before the pandemic shutdowns. I won't claim to be a prophet! People have been searching for a meaningful life for thousands of years. Coping with life away from the office or college and managing without a reliable or larger income can produce its own stress and anxiety; however, the whole experience can be a positive game-changer for those who are able to live less.
Work Culture
As the people in many nations approach a prepandemic normalcy, the struggles of the past year will eventually subside for many. Those who lost family and friends with continue to grieve. And those who lost employment or used a lot of their savings to survive may not recover for awhile.
Meanwhile, those who find their work meaningful may still have choices of where, when, and how much they work given the current demand for employees.
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Living Well: 10 Big Ideas of Faith and a Meaningful Life
An inexpensive read on Amazon Kindle
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