The view that the coronavirus pandemic has induced people to quit their jobs en masse has been making the rounds in the news and the networking sites. But the question is, does data really support the case? Or is it an influence of the big economies of the USA, UK and other Western nations? The figures differ from country to country, and there is no uniformity among the big economies of the USA, UK, China and India. The United States has seen a major setback, with as many as 4.2 million Americans calling it quits and are reluctant to go back to work as they reassess their priorities in life. Out of this 4.2 million, only half of them have returned to the work station, which is far below the expectation of economists.

This wave definitely got carried onto the Asian economies and held sway over the big economies of China and India. The Indian market, for example, experienced a loss of employees with more and more resignations turning up.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in IT services, for instance, saw 43,000 staff resign in just one year. Work from homehas definitely become a preference for many.

For china, the idea of 'lying flat', or tang ping in Chinese, became the buzz words, with the Chinese giving work second priority as COVID-19 surfaced. The work group got tired of working flat out and wanted to lie flat, enjoying reading a book or sitting down to watch a movie – basically wanting a simple life without much stress. This lying flat tendency is what the Europeans and Americans have termed the Great Resignation, or the Big Quit or the Great Reshuffle.

History repeats itself. In 1919, the Spanish flu receded, and the workers quit their jobs, and a positive career transition was seen.

The thesis of the Great Resignation seemed to have stronger roots in America and Britain.

The resignation effect is not necessarily negative, rather it might be a boon in boosting entrepreneurism and a healthy lifestyle. Data shows evidence of a major increase in the number of start-ups, and some of them acing the unicorn charts. Although not instantly, in the long run, this will have a positive impact on the economic sector of the countries.

The year 2021 made the world of work very complexand led the path to 'the Great Resignation'. The word was coined by Professor Anthony Klotz of Texas A&M University, USA. The Great R word is elastic, refurbishing the labour force, and, basically, the 'quits' is accelerating.

The pandemic, particularly in 2021, impacted theeconomy with the Great Reset and the Great Reshuffling in basic terms of life. With people pushing their families into a homebound lifestyle with added screen time and online streaming to the rise of DIY (Do It Yourself) family and presenting a new way of things, digitalised business services have surged since the pandemic hit all over the world.

Big names like Twitterhave allowed workers to permanently work from home. While companies like TESLA have changed their headquarters, these Great Reshuffles are bringing in the better-job revolution.

The wave started with the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, which madepeople rethink their priorities in life profoundly. Klotz stated that the thought process of the people since the pandemic has wired them into thinking about how their life is going to be and have had some epiphanies and decided on some changes in their lives.

With the thought of moving to a new job, working from home, being with family members and pursuing new interests to retir-ing early, the priorities are shifting. US data in November of 2021 showed that the percentage reached 3 per cent compared to that of an average of 2 per cent before the pandemic.

The Great Resignation has led to 'the Great Re-Imagination' and also 'the Great Realisation'. The idea has shifted to making decisions about the personal pace and relationship rather than just sticking to the workplace and workforce issues.

The chronicles of the Great Resignation have made us think about what's behind this and whether it is here to stay. The enforced work from home has now become a preference and not only an emotionally-driven decision that surfaced out of panic, which covered only a small percentage.

This shows that the quits is for real, but with some perks. The economy is accelerating with new businesses in the pipeline breaking the vicious circle, which are deemed to give a boost to the economy with new investments and innovations.

Since it seems that the high staff swirl is going to reside now for a while, the existing companies should reengineer their retention strategies. The management now needs to be intentional rather than relying on the old ways when the new generation is used to adapting to a new work culture. And the unicorns are set to bring in new jobs in the market and accelerate the economic environment in a more eased manner as they demand resources, including the tangibles and the intangibles, such as money, manpower and skills.

Nepal has seen an abrupt downfall in its economic activities since the middle of 2019 caused by the nationwide lockdown. The immediate effect was that it led to mass unemployment and loss of the jobs. Approximately 3.7 million workers were at risk and about 1.3 million jobs were disrupted, which resulted in loss of jobs and reduced wages, and pushed the economy backwards.

Currently, the economic growth rate of the country has been set at 6.5 per cent.

But the international development agencies have put the figure at 4.7 per cent, a slightly better scenario when compared to 2021.

Mostly the least developed and developing countries have been particularly hit by the pandemic, and there is a need to give a big push to their economies and accelerate the decision-making processes.

A version of this article appears in the print on April 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.