2 technologists share what they think is at the heart of “The great resignation”: better pay and remote work

“The great resignation” has been used to describe the current trend of employees and job seekers leaving their jobs in the final months of the pandemic.

Whether these tech workers are looking for higher wages, more flexibility, remote work, or promotions, they’re likely to find it in today’s job market, where more than 240,000 new tech positions are expected to be opened in 2021.

This month, two local technologists shared their own thoughts on the implications of this moment for the future of tech jobs. The inspector‘s Saint Dain, a software developer, said he doesn’t believe the big resignation is a completely accurate description of how workers leave their employers. Missing the point of what’s really going on, he said Technically – a workers’ movement. Saint said he believes the circumstances of the pandemic have enabled workers to collectively realize their power as a people.

“Call it what it is – a long overdue market adjustment,” he said. “Even if we consider capitalism to be good – which is exaggeration – labor is a commodity like anything else and is currently being criminally undervalued. “

Saint knows people who have worked in the service industry and who have earned more from unemployment assistance in the event of a pandemic than they have previously done in their entire lives. The expectation that they will return to those jobs without a guaranteed living wage and lose their health insurance during the pandemic is incomprehensible, he said.

“We have collectively watched a global catastrophe unfold, while still being supposed to show up and transform into capitalism as if nothing had happened and receiving the bare minimum of care expected of our government. [We also received] emails from our bosses telling us to “take care of our mental health”. It is high time for workers to realize the power they have, and this “resignation” that we are seeing is just a long overdue market adjustment, “Saint said.

This attitude will likely lead companies to fail to attract new employees and will not help retain their current employees. Saint said he believes this moment should require companies to better identify with employees and provide fair financial compensation or other forms of compensation to show an investment in employees and their professional growth. Employees themselves might also be forced to share more of their wages to make sure they are paid fairly and don’t miss out on other important perks or perks.

“Pay your people,” he said. “If you can’t hack it financially, find other ways to compensate. We all collectively come to face our dead. People will want more time with the people they love [and] want to know their health is being taken care of.

Crosses Director of Engineering Daniel Singer also observes the big resignation from inside his growing company. He believes remote working is one of the main reasons employees quit their jobs.

“We have been successful in finding engineers resigning from other companies which is a huge credit to the rest of the team who are great colleagues and to Crossbeam’s fascinating history in the market right now” , did he declare. “The most remarkable thing for me has been the number of people who say their current business hasn’t really engaged in remote culture. “

Before the pandemic, Singer said the ability to work remotely was not a top priority for future tech workers. It has totally changed.

“We receive detailed questions about what we ‘really’ do remotely [work] and candidates think clearly about how they want to structure their professional life. A lot of our recent hires are people who prioritize a remote work culture, ”Singer said.