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Since the end of 2021, France has been facing a historically high number of resignations within French companies, attests the Department of Studies of the Ministry of Labor (Dares): nearly 520,000 departures per quarter. But according to the study published Thursday, August 18, the trend is to be put into perspective, because the rate reported to the population is not new or comparable to the phenomenon of ” big resignation “, observed in the United States during the pandemic.
If France has been facing since last year a wave of resignations, The phenomenon is not new. Nor is it comparable to the wave of « big resignation ”, identified in the United States by psychologist and specialist in the world of work, Anthony Klotz.
“Big Quit” in the United States
In the United States, the pandemic and the confinement have called into question for many people the very meaning of their life or their work, an outbreak that has been dubbed “ Big Quit » (that is ” Big resignation “). Just like across the Atlantic, thousands of employees in France left their jobs between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, mainly for another job, or to retire from working life.
In France, this larger than usual wave of resignations reached nearly 520,000 per quarter, including around 470,000 resignations from permanent contracts (CDI), compared to around 430,000 per quarter at the end of 2019, before the health crisis. .
This is almost identical to the 2008 wave during the global financial crisis, which set the previous record high. 510,000 employees had then left their jobs, including 400,000 on permanent contracts.
Cyclic indicator
In fact, the number of resignations is a cyclical indicator, recalls Dares: it drops during crises and increases in recovery phases. In the current context of post-pandemic recovery, the rise in the quit rate is “ normal “. It simply reflects the dynamism of the labor market in France.
Another element to take into account: there are recruitment difficulties in France in trades considered difficult such as catering and construction. This situation would allow certain employees to negotiate their wages or working conditions upwards, adds Dares.