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Leadership Insights - October 2021

Scott Thurber

“Growth and comfort do not coexist.”

Ginni Rometty

CEO of IBM

2012-2020


“The Great Resignation”: A War, not a Battle

Many executives are hoping that the current tight labor market will loosen as we get past Covid and tight supply chains. According to two economists I follow regularly this problem will not be going away anytime soon. Economist Dr. Alan Beaulieu from ITR Economics in a recent podcast warns “how long will this pressure last? This pressure is going to last for years.” It’s truly a war for talent, not just a battle.

You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand, so take a minute for some insights in Dr. Beaulieu’s recent blog “Labor Issues in Context. In another ITR Economist blog, Brian Beaulieu (Alan's Brother) provides additional insights to answer the question Where is the Workforce?.”


“The Great Resignation”: Retention

In April, May and June a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs.

Most managers have not seen a “seller’s market” for labor and talent during their careers and are ill prepared to cope with this phenomenon. Many hope that the wane of Covid will restore this dynamic to a buyer’s advantage, but as noted above this may not happen any time soon.

It's imperative to answer questions like, Why will desired talent join us? Why will they stay? Why will they leave? To help you understand and cope with this situation check out these articles:

Gallup Survey: The “Great Resignation” is Really the “Great Discontent.” Job change is on the mind of nearly 50% of US employees


Delayed, not Decided

The delta variant surge has caused many companies to delay the return to work decision, some until well into next year.

A new, well researched book ”The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work and The Hard Choices We All Face” is summarized on the Knowledge@Wharton blog. It explores the key questions that employers and employees will need to face. “A lot of companies are talking about some flexibility, but they’re not being very specific. …..They’re afraid everybody will bolt and go work for their competitors…. The reason this one is such a big deal is it’s going to happen soon. This pandemic is going to lift at some point. It’s dragging on longer than we all thought, but at some point, we’ll have the opportunity to go back to work, and employers have to choose”



Econ Recon

A China Problem, or Everyone’s? Here’s an article on the Chinese Real Estate Giant 'China Evergrande' implosion and what it portends for the larger economy from ITR Economist Connor Lokar.

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