Is it, or is it not the pandemic’s blame for this global phenomenon we are calling the Great Resignation?
For those of you who do not know what I’m talking about: the Great Resignation is the economic trend of larger numbers of employees resigning from work. It all started to be felt around the beginning of 2021, however, the real cause on whether this event was caused by COVID-19 or not is debatable.
Personally, I believe that the pandemic served as a reality check to the world on a personal level. The sudden halt of that fast-paced rhythm into one which forced us to see what we were left with was akin to Adam and Eve’s sudden loss of innocence. In some other cases, the reality was grim with industries such as hospitality still experiencing uncertainty and have not yet reached anywhere near pre-pandemic levels.
In Malta, this phenomenon is being felt in the form of a shortage of labour. It is a common sentiment that the labour pool, in general, is bone dry, forcing a few businesses to scale down their operations. There is no distinction between the pools of professional, skilled and unskilled labour, the reality is the same across the board. The situation was especially impacted as a consequence of the exodus of foreign workers returning back home and Malta’s travel restrictions being a major stumbling block for third-country nationals to enter the country.
But what about the other side of the coin? The progress of the internet and the younger generation’s view of the world are probably the two most significant developments of our time ploughing through the late 20th century’s protocols. Whereas boomers glorified working 60 hour weeks, Gen-Z sees the world as a game with a clear understanding that technology should be working for us.
The abrupt switch to work-from-home put the idea of remote working to the test on a global scale, and for the majority, it worked! The idea of doing work from an island in the Maldives does not sound farfetched anymore, given that you have a good internet connection of course. Many doubt this will work for jobs such as waiters and receptionists, however, the advent of the Metaverse might just be the confidence needed.
The city of Seoul in South Korea have recently pledged almost 3 billion Euro as an investment towards building a parallel city on the Metaverse. The push to transpose our physical world onto the Metaverse will provide us with a parallel world in the form of Augmented Reality and Hybrid experiences. These will allow humans to interact in a common digital space whilst physically residing in remote parts of the world (again, given that a good internet connection exists).
If all this was not enough, the future of the typical corporate structure is also rather bleak. It has never been easier for anyone to be their own boss than today. A good number of digital opportunities exist, many of which allow a one-person show, and when help is needed many opt for the outsourcing of portions of their work to individuals with similar conditions, frequently from halfway across the globe. This egalitarian mentality is also manifesting into the professional world: just this week Zaha Hadid architects announced their transition to employee ownership of the company.
Clearly, the familiar corporate model is being overshadowed by this revolution, and defeat awaits those who refuse to adapt, rethink and question the old methods in favour of the new. As with many great eras, we are on the dawn of a new and exciting time ahead of us! Are we bold enough to embrace what’s next?
