Ancillary 6 critical analysis

During the pandemic, “2.9% of the national workforce” (Lufkin 2021) left their jobs, which is the highest point for the past twenty years. While plenty of companies are eager to hire people, many critics believe that the data show that the pandemic induces people to leave their original jobs and pursue better jobs with higher salaries, better work condition, or remote working mode. However, Bryan Lufkin thinks this is an oversimplification of the Great Resignation and argues that people are leaving their jobs for different reasons. He states that “some quit because of ennui and desire for growth” (Lufkin 2021), and “some quit due to untenable working conditions or because they had to take care of children while schools were closed” (Lufkin 2021). In other words, he thinks it is hard and biased trying to understand the Great Resignation and why people are quitting their jobs by pure data. I support his idea that not everyone who quit their jobs has the choice to pursue better jobs. In fact, we tend to see the Great Resignation through the perspective of people who already have good jobs and quit for better opportunities, “like top executives or financially secure workers” (Lufkin 2021), and neglect those who are forced to quit their jobs to deal with the impact of the pandemic.