Is the Great Resignation 2.0 coming? Nearly 3 in 10 workers plan to quit this year: Survey

The trend of employees resigning en masse has slowed down in the past two years, but some experts forecast another Great Resignation by the end of the year.

Nearly three in 10 full-time workers are likely to quit their jobs in 2024, according to a survey published last week by ResumeBuilder.com. One thousand participants were surveyed to find out how many people have their sights set on quitting this year.

In January, 3.4 million, or 2.1%, of U.S. workers, left their jobs, slightly below the pre-pandemic mark, according to the Labor Department.

That's down from the peak of the Great Resignation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a record 4.5 million workers a month – or 3% of all U.S. employees – were leaving jobs in the spring of 2022. Workers who resigned cited pay stagnation, poor benefits and general job dissatisfaction, among other reasons.

The result was unprecedented labor shortages, which forced employers to beef up pay and benefits and incentivized workers to job hop.

Here's what researchers say about a potential Great Resignation 2.0:

Is the Great Resignation making a comeback?

Here's what the survey from ResumeBuilder.com found:

• 28% of workers said they are likely to quit their jobs in 2024
• Generation Z and young Millennials are more likely to quit
• Workers are looking for higher salaries
• One-third of workers said they are dissatisfied with work modality
• The service industry has the highest percentage of workers planning to quit

Of 18- to 24-year-olds, 37% said they are somewhat or highly likely to quit their jobs this year. Another 35% of 25- to 34-year-olds answered the same way.

”Younger workers tend to switch jobs at a higher rate because they are trying to determine what type of function, industry, and environment would work best for them,” Julia Toothacre, resume and career strategist at Resume Builder, said in a statement.

“Along with that," she said, "you can increase your salary quicker when you change jobs every few years, and those early career years are the best time to do that.”

Why are people planning to quit their jobs?

The survey found that workers are quitting their jobs over low pay (56%), overly stressful work environments (43%) and the desire for better benefits (44%).

“Right now, employers have the most power when it comes to pay," Toothacre said. "The layoffs we’ve seen, primarily in the tech industry, have flooded the market with certain functions, and depending on the organization, they’re being inundated with candidates."

What are the effects of the Great Resignation?

Besides a generally cooling job market, many people already switched to jobs that better match their skills, interests and salary requirements during the Great Resignation.

Some experts say quitting varies across industries and believe the Great Resignation has come and gone.

Broadly, so-called quits rates have been “higher in in-person sectors where workers have been in short supply” since the pandemic, Julia Pollak, chief economist of ZipRecruiter, a job search site, told USA TODAY in April.

Contributing: Paul Davidson, USA TODAY