In the third quarter of 2021, a record 1.3 million people in the UK resigned from their jobs. That number alone shifted how many business owners think about retention. But the question now is whether that wave has passed or simply changed shape. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows the employment rate holding steady at 75.0%, while economic inactivity sits at 21.0%. Those figures suggest the labour market has settled, but the reasons people leave haven’t disappeared.
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This article is general information only and does not constitute professional advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.
What I notice is that the headline numbers have calmed, but the underlying pressures haven’t. Workload, poor work-life balance, low pay, and toxic culture were the push factors then, and they remain the reasons people walk now. The difference is that businesses that ignored those signals in 2021 are still losing staff today, just more quietly. Here’s what you actually need to know.
What the Great Resignation Actually Means for UK Businesses Now
The term Great Resignation gets thrown around a lot, but it’s worth pinning down what it actually describes. It’s not a single event. It’s a sustained period where more people than usual chose to leave their jobs, driven by a mix of push factors — things that made staying unbearable — and pull factors like better opportunities or the desire to start something of their own.
What I’d say is that the label might be fading from the news, but the behaviour isn’t. If you’re running a business and still treating retention the same way you did in 2019, you’re probably already feeling the effects. The question is whether you’re reading the signals or just reacting to the resignations.
What Happens When You Ignore the Reasons People Leave
The direct cost of losing a trained employee goes far beyond the recruitment advert. You lose institutional knowledge, productivity dips while the role sits empty, and the team left behind picks up the slack — which often pushes them closer to leaving too. The 1.3 million resignations in a single quarter weren’t just a statistic. Each one represented a business that had to absorb that disruption.
Professional roles were particularly badly hit. Software engineers, lawyers, accountants, financial analysts, HR professionals, sales and marketing staff, and customer service managers all showed high resignation rates. These aren’t roles you can backfill in a week. A good accountant or a senior developer might take months to replace, and in that time, projects stall, clients get frustrated, and the remaining staff burn out.
There’s also a structural effect that doesn’t show up on a profit and loss statement immediately. When wages get pushed up to attract replacements, your cost base shifts permanently. That’s fine if margins are healthy. If they’re not, you’re either cutting elsewhere or accepting lower profitability. The businesses that understood this early started investing in retention before the resignation letter landed.
Where Businesses Get Retention Wrong
Treating All Resignations as a Pay Problem
Low pay is a real factor, but it’s rarely the only one. The research shows workload pressure, lack of work-life balance, and toxic culture sit alongside pay as push factors. If you throw money at someone who’s burnt out and managed poorly, they’ll still leave — they’ll just take a higher salary to the next job. What tends to make sense here is looking at the full picture before reaching for the cheque book.
Ignoring the Young Worker Pattern
Nearly one in five workers aged 16–24 resigned in Q3 2021. That’s not a blip. Younger employees are more willing to move if the role doesn’t match what they want. Businesses that treat them the same as longer-tenured staff often miss that this group values flexibility, development, and culture more than pension contributions. If you’re losing younger staff repeatedly, the issue is probably structural, not personal.
Assuming the Problem Solved Itself
Because the employment rate has stabilised at 75.0% and unemployment sits at 4.9%, some business owners assume the crisis is over. But economic inactivity is still at 21.0%, meaning a large chunk of working-age people aren’t even looking for work. The labour pool hasn’t expanded. People are still leaving jobs where conditions don’t suit them — they’re just doing it less loudly than in 2021.
Waiting for the Resignation Letter
Most businesses only act once someone hands in notice. By then, the decision is made. The research points to push factors building up over time — workload, culture, lack of balance. If you’re not measuring those things regularly, you’re managing retention reactively. A simple anonymous survey every quarter costs almost nothing and tells you what’s brewing before it boils over.
How to Hold Onto Your Best People in This Market
Fix the Push Factors First
Before you think about perks or bonuses, look at what’s driving people away. Workload pressure is the most common push factor. If your team is consistently working beyond contracted hours, that’s a structural problem, not a motivation problem. Redistribute work, hire additional support, or cut low-value tasks. A business consultant can help you audit where the workload is actually landing versus where it should be. The fix is rarely expensive. The cost of not fixing it is losing the people who know how things run.
Build Work-Life Balance Into the Role, Not Just the Policy
Having a hybrid work policy on paper doesn’t mean much if managers still expect instant replies at 9pm. The research shows lack of work-life balance is a major push factor. That means the actual experience of the job, not the handbook. If you’re serious about retention, measure whether people feel they can switch off. If they can’t, the policy isn’t working. Tools like ExpressVPN can support secure remote work, but they don’t fix a culture that expects constant availability.
Address Toxic Culture Directly
This is the hardest one because it’s often invisible to senior leadership. Toxic culture shows up in how people talk about each other, how mistakes are handled, and whether feedback flows upward without fear. The research lists it as a clear push factor. If you’re losing good people and can’t figure out why, look at the management layer. A single poor manager can drive out an entire team over 12 months. Replacing the manager is cheaper than replacing the team.
Pay Competitively, But Don’t Stop There
Low pay is a push factor, but it’s rarely the only one. If you benchmark salaries against your sector and adjust annually, you remove pay as a reason to leave. That doesn’t mean you need to be the highest payer. It means you need to be fair enough that someone doesn’t feel undervalued. The pull factors — better opportunities, entrepreneurial spirit, desire for change — are harder to counter. What you can do is offer clear progression, interesting work, and genuine autonomy. Those things keep people even when a recruiter calls.
→ Scroll right to see all columns
| Push Factor | What It Looks Like | Cost of Ignoring It |
|---|---|---|
| Workload pressure | Consistent overtime, missed breaks, high stress | Burnout, sick leave, resignations |
| Lack of work-life balance | Emails at all hours, no flexibility | Low morale, disengagement, exits |
| Low pay and benefits | Below-market salaries, poor perks | High turnover, difficulty hiring |
| Toxic work culture | Blame, poor management, no psychological safety | Team collapse, reputational damage |
What’s Coming Next: The Regulation Angle
The conversation around worker rights isn’t static. The UK government has been consulting on changes to employment law, including stronger protections around flexible working, predictable hours, and redundancy rights. If those changes go through, businesses that already have good retention practices will barely notice. Those that rely on low flexibility and high pressure will face new compliance requirements on top of their turnover problem. It’s worth watching the future-proofing strategies that account for these shifts before they become mandatory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Great Resignation still happening in 2026? ▾
Which industries were hit hardest by the Great Resignation? ▾
Why are young workers more likely to resign? ▾
What’s the difference between push and pull factors? ▾
Can a small business compete with larger salaries? ▾
What should I do if I suspect toxic culture is causing resignations? ▾
The Real Test Is Whether You Act Before the Notice
The Great Resignation wasn’t a one-off event. It was a signal about what workers actually value and what they won’t tolerate. The businesses that responded by fixing workload, culture, and flexibility kept their teams intact. Those that waited for things to go back to normal are still losing people, one resignation at a time. The data is clear on what drives people away. The only question is whether you’re willing to look at it honestly and make the changes before the next resignation letter lands on your desk.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read The Hybrid Work Revolution: Redefining Productivity in the UK Workplace.
Sources and Further Reading
Gen Z’s Impact on the UK Workplace: Adapting or Dying — Explores how younger workers are reshaping workplace expectations and what businesses need to change to keep them.
Beyond Profit: Building a Purpose-Driven Business in the UK — Looks at how culture and purpose directly affect retention and long-term business performance.
Talent Connect SA (2025). The Great Resignation: A British Perspective. 🔗
Office for National Statistics (2026). Employment in the UK: February to April 2026. 🔗
