The Great Resignation underway: Why #MyResignationAnnouncement is a Twitter trend

The Great
Resignation is underway and seemingly here to stay. Despite rising inflation, market
instability and tech companies shedding jobs by the hundreds, American workers
are either quitting jobs or thinking of quitting. The expression ‘The Great
Resignation’ came to the fore in May 2021. Workers who had become used to
working from the comfort of their homes were refusing to take the daily commute
to return to office. And firm after first bled workers. Companies and
economists thought the phenomenon wouldn’t last. But it has been over a year.
The World Economic Forum (WEF), in a report released in May, said one-fifth of
the workforce may quit jobs this year.

On Monday,
as the blues hit, Twitter is rife with memes titled “My Resignation
Announcement”. The hashtag #MyResignationAnnouncement is gaining numbers by the
minute. While the fantasy of quitting a job by saying what one had to say about
it is as old as human history, people are not holding back anymore.

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A Twitter
user who goes by the handle Dr. MaddKap wrote: “I let the boss know I quit, and
asked him to write a glowing letter of recommendation so I wouldn’t need to
trust him to say good things in the future. He said no. I told him I don’t
remember the server passwords. He changed his mind. I remembered them.
#MyResignationAnnouncement”

Another user, Henry Turtledove, waxed poetic. He wrote: “#MyResignationAnnouncement
I wasn’t there. If I was there, I didn’t do it. If I did it, it was an
accident. If it wasn’t an accident, the SOB had it coming. Waddaya mean, there’s
video footage?! I am resigning to spend some more time with my family.”

Besides, Twitter was flooded
with memes and video clips and songs about how people were going to announce
their resignation.

The Great Resignation,
when it first came to the fore, was thought of as a pandemic-caused churn.
However, experts now say that the trend started before the pandemic and is here
to stay, at least for some time.

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“This isn’t just a passing trend, or a
pandemic-related change to the labour market,” said Bonnie Dowling, co-author
of a McKinsey report on The Great Resignation to CNBC. “There’s been a
fundamental shift in workers’ mentality, and their willingness to prioritise other
things in their life beyond whatever job they hold.”

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The question, however,
is, what sort of jobs are people looking for and where are they going. The aforementioned
McKinsey report says 18% American workers are going to non-traditional jobs.
Some are switching to part-time employment whereas others are taking up temporary
jigs or even starting their own businesses. Some workers are also switching
industry.