Editorial Ta Nea: A different quality of life

They call it “The Great Resignation”.

It is a product of the pandemic and entails the en masse departure of people from their jobs in a series of countries, mainly the US and the UK.

This past summer in the US an average of four million people each month resigned.

A study conducted by Microsoft indicated that 41 percent of the global work force views the idea of resignation positively.

There are two basic reasons for this.

One is negative – the changes in work conditions caused by the pandemic, especially the predominance of tele-employment, have led many workers to the point of exhaustion

The second is positive – the sudden realisation of how vulnerable we are brought a shakeup of priorities and balances, especially for people in the 30-45-year-old age bracket, who decide that they no longer want to live in order to work, and so they seek a different content and a different quality in their lives and work.

Such a decision presupposes a specific type of economy, and certain guarantees for those who abandon their jobs even temporarily.

The Great Resignation is not easy in countries such as Greece and Spain. It may prove to be a fleeting phenomenon in Europe, but that does not mean it should not concern us.

Some have proposed that one deal harshly with difficulties in finding employees in a variety of sectors, such as restaurants and hotels – end the economic aid to them that began during the pandemic and resignations will automatically stop!

The exact opposite should be done. The phenomenon of the Great Resignation should lead to a radical review of the terms and conditions of employment, with better wages and greater labour flexibility.

After all, a key characteristic of capitalism has always been its ability to adapt.