How much do managers really give a shit about “The Great Resignation?”

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In short answer to the headline, I think some do and many don’t, and I think the ones that do are often in the bucket of “Ugh, I need to actually put effort into hiring now?” and/or “Ugh, there’s more work than people. I need to learn these peons’ strengths and allocate this work? Fuck.”

Lest you think I’m throwing stones, we can do this with a little dance if you want.

Step 1: How real is “The Great Resignation” anyway? It’s less real than we think. The narrative is based on service sector, tech sector, and young employees. Service sector employees bounce around a lot anyway; I’ve had the same guy bartend for me at six different places, as one small example. Tech sector is all about bouncing for more money. And young people job-hop for the same reason. The narrative is sexy and helps you meet deadlines quickly, but it completely ignores most people over 35, those with responsibilities, those who can’t just up and quit, etc. It’s a nice flashpoint dialogue, but it’s not as real as we think.

Step 2: How much do managers really care about their direct reports as is? Not a ton. We know from research that 68% of managers aren’t involved in the development of their employees. We also…