Voluntary resignations: 1.7 million in 9 months. The reasons for the boom

On the one hand there is the desire for a job more in line with one’s expectations; on the other, a finally dynamic market. within which you can move. Thanks also to economic growth which, for almost all of 2022, exceeded analysts’ expectations. Certainly of the nearly 1.7 million workers who left their jobs in the first nine months of last year, the vast majority did so for another job. In short, by choice or by necessity, to look ahead with respect to one’s occupation and career or to better reconcile the needs of the family, a trend that has been underway for almost two years has been consolidating. In the first nine months of 2021, there were 1.3 million resignations; 22% less. The photograph comes from the latest quarterly data on mandatory communications from the Ministry of Labour. And among the causes of termination of employment relationships, resignations constitute the highest share after the expiry of fixed-term contracts. Looking at the third quarter of last year alone, there were 562,000 resignations, up by 6.6% (equal to +35,000) over the third quarter of 2021. Data which therefore confirms how the positive trend that started in the second quarter of 2021 continues , albeit with a smaller change than in previous quarters.

The photography
Indeed, the Observatory of the Milan Polytechnic on human resources reveals that in the last year the turnover rate has increased for 73% of companies, with 45% of employees declaring that they have changed jobs in the last year or have intend to do so 18 months from now. Numbers that are growing for young people (18-30 years), for certain sectors (ICT, Services and Finance) and for some profiles (digital professionalism). But confirming how much the perception of work has changed, among people who have left their jobs, 4 out of 10 have done so without another job offer at the time of resignation. Those who change, therefore, do so mainly to seek economic benefits (46%), career opportunities (35%), for greater physical or mental health (24%) or to pursue their personal passions (18%) or greater working time flexibility (18%).

But the figures also indicate how the number of layoffs has risen, after the end of the blockade decided with the pandemic crisis: between January and September 2022, in fact, there were around 557,000 relationships interrupted by decision of the employer against 379,000 in the first nine months of 2021, with an increase of 47% compared to a period in which the blockade was in force.

Union appeal
For Giulio Romani of the CISL it is necessary “to review the organizational models towards greater quality”, given that the companies in which work well-being and quality of work are developed are a minority and are those with 10 to 250 employees. But the audience of Italian companies, he explains, “is however occupied for about 95% by micro-enterprises, those with the lowest productivity, within which on average it is more difficult to develop forms of supplementary welfare and where bargaining is not practiced company and transparent reward systems are not built». «The increase in resignations – explains Tania Scacchetti of the CGIL – can have very different explanations: on the one hand it can positively be linked to the will, after the pandemic, to bet on a more satisfying or more ‘agile’ workplace, on the however, especially for those who do not already have another job to move towards, it could be linked to an increase in malaise also due to a lack of involvement and a lack of professional development on the part of companies». For Ivana Veronese of Uil “the priorities have also changed in the minds of male and female workers: if there is more flexible smart-working somewhere, if the salary where I work is too low or the hours are too uncomfortable, if I feel like to really try, you can leave a job, perhaps even a secure one».