COVID-Era 'Great Resignation' Has Workers Forcing Employers to Pay Up

The lockdowns and shelter-in-place actions during the COVID-19 pandemic have ushered in "The Great Resignation," according to an organizational psychologist, and one that has Bank of America projecting "structural changes to the workforce" for years to come.

Apparently, Americans liked not having to go to work, and in a capitalist twist under a socialist response to pandemic circumstances — the government paying Americans to stay home — workers are deciding employers will have to pay up to change their minds, Business Insider reported.

With workers leaving jobs at record highs, organizational psychologist Anthony Klotz told Business Insider he called it with his "Great Resignation" prediction during the pandemic.

Also, according to the report, Bank of America Research economists Michelle Meyer and Stephen Juneau are projecting a flat-lining of labor force participation through 2023 at levels lower than was seen pre-pandemic under former President Donald Trump (63.3%).

Quitting has become popular as the Biden administration's bolstered $300-per-week jobless bonus expired late this summer. There were 4.3 million workers leaving their jobs in August, which represented nearly 3% of the workforce.

Hardest hit was the hospitality industry, as restaurants and hotels saw 892,000 workers leave their jobs, representing 6.8% of the industry.

Meyer and Juneau said high levels of workers leaving their jobs will bring "structural changes to the workforce."

Not only are realized "quitters" bearing out in the data, but a Joblist poll showed 73% of workers are considering quitting in the future.

There is a silver lining in this "extreme churn in the labor force," though, and that is "rapid wage growth," according to BofA analysts.

Wages are up 4.6% year-over-year, including 10.8% among leisure and hospitality workers, according to the report.

• Kent Ingle: Preventing the 'Great Resignation' in Your Organization
• House Rules Chair McGovern Warns of 'Financial Armageddon'