Employers have rarely, if ever, confronted challenges as difficult or unique as they have faced over the past 18 months. The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of those once-in-a-lifetime events that no one, especially employers, ever wants to see again. From its first wave, employers had to adapt to the federal government’s constant revisions and updates to its guidance for maintaining a safe workplace.
As businesses began to resume operations, the numerous operational problems were exacerbated by a lack of returning employees and inability to hire new ones. Substantial increases in starting pay to help attract applicants were somewhat successful, but created the unintended consequence of wage compression, often upsetting existing employees. This resulted in unhappy, experienced employees leaving for open positions that offered more money for their experience in addition to quickly departing new hires job hopping through abundant available jobs. More employees have been leaving their jobs than at any time since 2000.