From Great Resignation to great uncertainty, the big quit may be losing steam

The Great Resignation has dominated the workplace for nearly two years — but employers may soon be able to heave a sigh of relief. 

The labor market is now “emerging from” the Great Resignation, LinkedIn’s CEO Ryan Roslansky told CNBC Make It. 

The phenomenon — also known as the “Great Reshuffle” — refers to the mass exodus of workers during the pandemic.

According to Roslansky, the year-on-year share of global LinkedIn members changing jobs has dropped from a high of 44% in September last year to -2% this year.

Similarly in Asia-Pacific, the “job transition rate” has also drastically fallen in the same time period — from a peak of 83% to 4%, he added.

In November alone, more than 20,000 U.S. tech workers were laid off, as internet giants Twitter, Meta and Salesforce downsized their workforce in the past week.

Instead of the Great Resignation, the workforce is now “entering a period of great uncertainty,” said Roslansky. 

This is reflected in employees’ decreasing confidence that their financial situation could improve, as found in LinkedIn’s recent Global Talent Trends report.

Five out of eight countries surveyed reflected decreased employee confidence, including Japan and India. 

Guy Berger, LinkedIn’s principal economist attributed the uncertainty to the many “economic curveballs” in the past few years — recovery from the pandemic, supply-chain disruptions, record-high inflation and a slowdown in economic growth. 

“Employees are acutely aware of this uncertain environment, too. In the past few years, they’ve been worried about their health, their job security, and their pocketbooks,” he added. 

“The uncertainty filters into their lives both personally and professionally.”

The once red-hot job market — where employees had great bargaining power — may also be cooling amid recession fears. 

“There are markets and sectors that are growing and areas that are slowing. Some parts of the labor market are tight, and some are soft,” Roslansky explained. 

He added that while unemployment rates remain low in Asia-Pacific, hiring on LinkedIn has seen a “decrease in key markets” — that includes a 14% drop in Australia, 18% in India and 14% in Singapore. 

In addition, remote jobs on LinkedIn are also on a decline, said Roslansky. 

“Today’s economic climate is causing some [companies] to pull back on the flexibility and learning and development initiatives introduced during the pandemic,” he added.

“In fact, seven out of 10 leaders in APAC believe their companies will be forced to wind back progress on flexible working, skills development, and employee wellbeing.” 

However, the demand for these remote jobs “continue to outstrip supply,” an indication that workers are refusing to return to the old ways of work, said Roslansky. 

“In India, for example, even as remote jobs have dipped to 11%, from a peak of 19% in March of this year, applications to these jobs have held steady at just above 20%,” he added. 

“Similarly, in Singapore, despite remote roles dipping down to just 5% of jobs on LinkedIn, applications to these remote jobs account for 8% of applications.”