Millions of employees left their jobs during the pandemic. A new study shows that many of them are returning to their old positions.
The monthly “quit rate”, a government statistic on how many employees resigned their position, reached 2.9% in February. Sadly, this doesn’t keep track of how long an employee had been in the position.
But a large number of former employees are returning to their old positions. The so-called “Boomerang Employee” numbers accounted for 4.5% of all new hires.
The reasons for this are plentiful, but basically it comes down to the fact that the grass isn’t always greener.
Employee Expectations
Candidates are requesting flexibility in their jobs, the highest possible salaries, and fast decision making from the companies that hire them. It’s the equivalent of having the world with a fence around it. Many times they realize that they were happier in the position they left, so they return.
The New Hire Mad Dash
In the hiring frenzy that occurred during the pandemic, many found that their new roles were a bad fit. They also found that the frustrations they had at their last employer also exist at the new one.
Recruiter Distortions
Many hiring managers may also have distorted the reality of the new positions in a tight job market. The pressure exerted to fill positions may have led recruiters to over-sell the opportunity.
In an even more eye-catching set of statistics, a career coaching organization named The Muse, did a study of 2,500 workers and found the following.
1 – Nearly 75% of workers who left one position for another during the pandemic had feelings of surprise or regret.
2 – 50% said they would try to get their old position back.
3 – 40% said they would give their new employer another 2 – 6 months before switching again.
I’m writing this to get some of you thinking about your staffing difficulties. Many are talking about how difficult it is to find good employees.
No matter what the job market we find ourselves in, this is always true. But the answer for many may be in doing some re-hiring.
Let me leave you with this.
Salary Solutions LLC, the company we set up about a year ago to provide payroll services is doing quite well. We had a little bit of a rough start, but have gone through our growing pains, and are now providing payroll services to 75 employers.
The combination between handling a client’s payroll and their accounting and tax work has created even more synergies than I had imagined. Those synergies were apparent when completing this year’s tax returns.
Given the fact that we had the payrolls in-house, we were able to make sure that those clients were properly deposited. This eliminated many Estimated Tax Deposit Penalties.
Also, the customer service that we’re providing is second to none. If you’ve ever had a problem in payroll where you had to leave a message for someone, who finally got back to you a week later, then you know what I’m talking about.
Having payrolls done by people who actually know accounting makes the difference. Further information about my payroll service can be found at the following web address.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Employee Retention Credits, M&A Due Diligence, Payroll Services, or Accounting and Tax Work, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
Accounting Solutions Ltd.
773-267-7500
Note that the only professional services provided by Accounting Solutions Ltd. are those specified in a written communication from our office detailing the scope of services to be rendered and the terms and conditions applicable to the engagement.