Employment experts are starting to talk a lot about a concept: resignation by revenge or “revenge quitting” in English. Behind this principle, we find the idea of a departure where the employee of a company chooses to loudly express his dissatisfaction. Enough to harm the image of the company, while deteriorating the internal atmosphere. Here’s why this practice could increase next year.
Companies overwhelmed by events?
In a fascinating article published on the subject, Business Insider notably interviewed Edel Holliday-Quinn, business psychologist. According to him, resignations out of revenge are boosted by the increase in the workload imposed on employees and by the successive reversals linked to teleworking upon returning to the office.
He emphasizes thus: “The job market is starting to relax, and for those who are seething with frustration, this might just be the year they finally quit, not just silently, but out loud.”.
This perspective is also confirmed in the figures of a survey carried out by the Businessolver platform which questioned 20,000 employees, human resources professionals and CEOs from six sectors of activity. And in fact, 42% of workers surveyed and 52% of CEOs say they work in a toxic environment.
Quoted by Yahoo FinanceDaniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, doesn’t beat around the bush:
Employees want to grow their careers and when they feel stuck, they also want to quit, but do not have the opportunity to do so due to the slowdown in the job market. If people feel stuck, that resentment will build. And if employment recovers, I think that many companies will find themselves caught off guard, not expecting a wave of turnover, and an avalanche of revengeful resignations.
And in France?
If these trends can apply to certain professions under pressure, we are thinking in particular of cybersecurity which is always looking for talent, this does not necessarily apply to the entire labor market in France. Moreover, the outlook is not very optimistic in this regard.
After the announcement of numerous layoff plans, some forecasters say they expect the unemployment rate to climb to 8% by the end of next year. Therefore, frustrated employees could choose to postpone their thunderous departure until later.
What to remember:
- Revenge resignation involves leaving a company by making it known loudly
- Many employees could use it next year, if the job market improves
- In France, this practice could be limited to sectors under tension
