GuestColumn
What’s Driving the Current Talent Shortage? By K evin Loux, Chief Impact Officer, Charlotte Works and Raquel Lynch, Chief Program Officer, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
W
ith over 43 million Americans quitting their job in 2021, the “Great Resignation” is no longer a trend, but a paradigm shift. Many employers lament this as a signal that no one wants to work. The recent narrative has focused on unemployment benefits replacing wages and portrayed this as a matter of “lazy and entitled” workers, when in fact, the behavior of today’s workers is not caused by laziness but by rational decision-making. While employers are used to having leverage, the reality is that the same market forces driving the success of a business’s product or service are now impacting their ability to secure talent. Businesses are familiar with the impacts of economic globalization through
e-commerce but are now seeing these same forces impact their workforce. With the increased availability of remote work, the demand for talent isn’t geographically limited, meaning employers have more competition. Just as e-commerce has benefited adaptable companies and put others out of business, the shift in the job market has the same power. Even companies without remote positions must consider that someone with the skills to work remotely may do so, reducing the supply of local talent. This is also complicated because the labor market has a backward bending supply curve, which means that beyond a certain level of pay, most workers will value increased leisure time over increased wages. This effect also extends to the quality of position in terms
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Kevin Loux, Chief Impact Officer at Charlotte Works
Raquel Lynch, Chief Program Officer at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
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May-June 2022 | Pride Magazine
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