Black workers are leaving the office in droves, along with their white counterparts, in what is being dubbed “The Great Resignation,” Black Enterprise recently reported.
According to the article, “The Great Resignation” is a byproduct of the dramatic lifestyle shifts brought about by the pandemic, leading millions of corporate employees to quit their jobs instead of returning to work full-time.
In the past year, according to the article, a greater number of these employees have left companies due to how they were treated – or not treated – in the pandemic, BBC reports. This workplace shift was created not in a vacuum, however, but where workers valued their emotional and mental health and quit working at their company if they didn’t feel supported — the opposite can be said for those who chose to stay if they felt supported on the job.
With businesses now having time to rework their business structure, according to the article, they have been able to add more employees to their “bottom line.”
“The Great Resignation has no doubt turned Corporate America on its head changing the “live to work” model to a “work to live” culture,” Janelle Reid, an executive career coach and founder of Divine Career Solutions, said in the article.
“Corporate America will now have to value, prioritize and deliver a people agenda that provides a work environment that creates boundaries for work-life balance, normalizes and celebrates having a life outside of work, and develops people to be the best version of themselves holistically,” Reid said.
In this new workplace, reimagined and actualized, companies and corporations are taking a second look at their business model to make sure that employees are treated, well, how they deserve.
That means for Black workers looking into what matters for them in a new light, and not just offering lip service. For Black employees, many have felt relief in working from home, especially Black women who have experienced their fair share of microaggressions within the workplace, Washington Post reports.
However, with a larger number of Black corporate workers choosing to work remotely, this also increases the risk of “isolation” and “stagnation” around diversity and inclusion efforts, Reid said.
“As a result of the pandemic, companies placed diversity & inclusion efforts on hold and it’s too important to be put on the back burner,” she added. “The impact of this reinforces existing exclusive behaviors and unconscious biases and undermines inclusion.”
Also, with working from home, there are still, as many know, challenges to adjusting – even over a year into the pandemic. Reid shared four time management tips for growing careers from home:
- Establish disciplined work-life boundaries or burnout is going to happen.
- Set a schedule for work hours and personal time.
- Play up your strengths and use them to your advantage during the workday and think about doing the hardest tasks first and the easier tasks later in the day.
- Take breaks and do something to rest and refresh your mind.
Reid’s methods and tips can be found in her new book Awakening Your Value Proposition: How To Be At Your Best To Deliver Solutions.
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