Workers are still quitting – here are the jobs with the highest turnover rates
The Great Resignation may have peaked, but the total number of resignations was still around 4 million at the end of October. And while workers quit in all industries, there are certain jobs that workers are more likely to quit.
Of course, some roles have a higher turnover – seasonal work, for example. In assessing the jobs workers are most likely to quit, Payscale found that many of these positions went remote during the pandemic but are now shifting back to office work. For the jobs with the highest number of employees submitting their two-week notice, the average churn rate is up 12% year over year.
“We’re seeing a string of layoffs from jobs that have forced employees back to the office, suggesting workers have made workplace flexibility an ultimatum they don’t want to give up – and they’re undeterred by recent layoff reports ‘ Lexi Clarke, VP of People at Payscale, said in a statement.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, flexibility in the workplace is inseparable from employee satisfaction. When employees have more autonomy over where and when they log in, they tend to give their work a higher approval rating. And when companies choose to limit flexibility by requiring employees to commute to the office, it can lead to higher turnover, Clarke says.
But it’s not all fun and games and a good work-life balance for those who are still remote.
“Those who may still be working remotely are vulnerable to the increasing prevalence of burnout as employees working from home are increasingly expected to be available 24/7,” says Clarke. “Employees who remain in these positions (for now) are dissatisfied and will likely ‘quietly quit,'” she adds.
Who gives up the most?
The job that leads to the most layoffs? Perhaps unsurprisingly, they are high-level customer service representatives. These are the people who typically get called when customers ask, Can I speak to your manager? They work directly with customers and are typically the ones answering questions and responding to complaints — usually over the phone or email, depending on the plan.
Yet despite routinely bearing the brunt of customer frustration, senior customer service representatives earn an average salary of less than $50,000 and have only seen a pay increase of about 7% over the last year.
Not all jobs with high quit rates suffer from lower wages. Those with the title “software development manager” typically make more than $150,000 a year, but many have been hit with back-to-work mandates after successfully navigating remote work during the pandemic. Additionally, layoffs in the tech sector are likely to increase stress and burnout rates among these workers.
Here’s the full list of Payscale jobs that workers are increasingly looking to quit:
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