Why So Many People Are Quitting Their Jobs (And Where Are They Going?)

The bureau of labor statistics reported a record number of people quitting their jobs in August - 4.3 million to be exact. 

In April 2020, 2 million people quit their jobs. Every month since then, the number keeps going up. Why are people leaving their comfortable employee jobs? And where are they going? Let’s dive into it. 

A survey run by Upwork.com revealed that up to 10 million people are considering freelancing, and about 25% of employees who are quitting are considering freelancing.

Why? Because it’s the only way you guarantee the things that many companies aren’t giving employees: flexible work schedule, higher pay, and ability to attend to personal needs much easier.

There have been many polls conducted from a variety of sources all year to gather information on why people are quitting. Below is a summary of the findings. 

It’s not just one thing that is driving everyone to quit but there are some common denominators.

There were 1.3 million firings so that’s also adding fuel to the fire but here are the reasons people are choosing to quit: 

1. Many people got used to working at home with more flexibility and when called back to the office didn’t want to go back. Basically many companies are unwilling to permanently do things differently.

2. Mistreatment. This includes things like too low pay, pay increases not even coming close to keeping up with inflation and rising living costs. Not being allowed to address personal needs or even a crisis without risk of losing your job.
   Basically, many employers are not caring enough about the life/personal/family needs that people have.
   You just had a baby? Ah who cares, you better be back in the office in 3 days. They expect employees to prioritize their job over every other demand of life. It should be the opposite. The pandemic empowered employees to demand remote work options, a power they won’t ever give away now even post-pandemic.

3. There are record numbers of job openings which gives people more options so they don’t have to keep taking their employers' abuse. Now this is a chicken and the egg scenario because the people quitting is also causing the increased job openings.

4. Here are some important ones that do represent a portion of the people quitting. It’s hard to say exactly what percentage, but it’s large enough to contribute to a known reason people are leaving: discrimination in the office against political or religious beliefs.
   Many people are witnessing their companies taking strong political stances and if you don’t align with their political beliefs you first get socially shunned in the office, and could risk losing your job anyways so they figure I’ll just quit before I get fired.
   Companies have become activists and it’s causing them to lose quality employees.

5. Decreased freedoms and increased stomping on of human rights. Employees have been in constant battle for many years with the regulations from the government regarding their rights. Often what is a human right outside the office, disappears inside the office. And some of it is legal.
   The freedom of speech technically only applies to government restricting that right and an employer can fire you because of supporting a certain political candidate but there are discrimination laws that varies per state but it’s never enough.
   Recent mandates requiring employees to get vaccinated are one motivator to quit and especially consider freelancing where you have total control over what you do with your body. Medical freedom is a term to summarize the reason some people are quitting. This is actually a reason for many firings too, not just people quitting.
   Let me remind you, when someone quits they usually don’t qualify for unemployment, which means these people are willing to take a big risk in quitting with no prospects of what will come next.

6. The grind. People are starting to wake up to how much life they’re missing when they are working 40+ hours per week in stressful jobs that have little flexibility. They are burnt out.
   And ironically, because there is such a labor shortage, more work is being put on the people that haven’t quit, causing them to work 12 hour days with little to no extra pay, causing them burnout leading to more people quitting. The bubble has finally burst and the way we work HAS to change.

Many of these people quitting aren’t rushing into another job because they know they have more bargaining power to find something they enjoy more and many are likely sitting on some savings from the pandemic stimulus’ or their own financial smarts. 

So can these people who are quitting just go find another job with a company that pays more, provides flexible options, etc…? They could, and some companies do provide better work environments than others, but it’s still a gamble whether you get everything you want. Compromises are still made.

With freelancing, no compromises. You get exactly the work situation you want. And that’s why 25% of people are considering freelancing.

What they don’t realize is just how many jobs you can do as a freelancer. Almost any employee can find some way to convert their employee resume into a freelancer portfolio to go find clients. 

Now that person has to be willing to do much more than just show up to work, log hours and get paid. They know have to run a business, and do sales, and find clients continually. And it’s hard at first, but once you get a system in place and establish yourself as a freelancer, it’s far less stressful then a normal employee job.

I have so much more life/work balance as a freelancer. I am rarely stressed or burnt out from my work.

I enjoy my work and I only work around 25 hours per week and it’s enough to support my family on one income. I can keep increasing my income to far beat inflation. I’ve been able to increase my income by 30%-50% every year since I started freelancing. And that’s THIRTY percent - not 3%.

So if you’re considering leaving your job, think about freelancing. Subscribe to this channel, visit arrowlight.tv where you’ll get free resources on getting started so you can navigate the transition safely while putting family first during that process.