By: Crystal Kwaw, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb. – Anthony C. Klotz, a professor of business administration at Texas A&M in a Bloomberg Business, in an interview last May said, people leave their jobs because of realizations about life and death; want family time; desire remote work and passion projects. If not a complete exit, some companies offer the option for employees to work less hours.
Tiki Naujouks, a mom and full-time bartender, stepped down to be a part-time manager. She’s an aspiring business owner, and says when she owns one, she’ll want to work among her employees.
“I think [the Great Resignation] makes sense. Times are changing. People want more from their jobs, and sometimes people just settle because they don’t think they’ll ever get more from it,” said Naujouks.
In August, Naujoks downsized from full-time bartending to work as a part-time manager. Although she’s making less, she now has more time to finish her studies. Naujoks said, when she used to be an hourly worker, she knew what it was like to be barked at and never heard.
“I want to hear them. I want to feel. I want to make their experiences better, so they stay a long time,” she said.
Naujouks said she and her boss are so alike, and that is why she’s stayed at same company for 5 years and counting.
The Pew Research Center survey in March 2022 showed the top 3 reasons people quit last year in order was low pay, no advancement opportunities and disrespect at work. Other reasons included: child care issues, not enough flexibility, underwhelming benefits, desire to relocate, working too many hours, working too little and lastly, because the employer required Covid-19 vaccination.
Naujouks said she and her co-workers are close and tell each other never leave sometimes.
“We are a family,” she said.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since February 2019 job openings have gradually risen since its lowest point of 3.5 million to 7 million in February 2022. More data said the total number of separations (including layoffs) was 70.6 million over the last year.
However, new hires totaled 77 million. These numbers include workers who have separated from employers more than once over the last year. It’s also a great reshuffle of the workforce.
Parker Kieg, an instructor who worked in Finland for three years says their work culture overall is much more respectful of people’s time. He said they have strong healthcare, housing, and educational institutions to support their shorter work weeks.
“These types of social support enable a greater degree of individual entrepreneurial activity, greater degrees of freedom for women and their careers, in the workplace,” he said.
“People in some of these countries, they’re just as critical of their own countries as we are of our own.”
He advises substantial organized democratic labor unions as a foundation of national work culture.
He added that greater mobility for all levels of professional life to change their circumstances is something many Americans could champion.
