Assessing the Great Resignation phenomenon: voluntary resignation of young Italian workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has determined a radical change in workplace dynamics, with a reported increase in voluntary resignation from employment at a global level, especially among the young-est workers. The aim of this study is to investigate the social, demographic, and cultural characteristics of young people aged between 25 and 45 years who voluntarily resigned from their previous jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study; an ad hoc questionnaire was designed and admin-istered via an online link. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe the sample, and the Pearson analysis was performed to investigate statistically significant correlations; p values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 72 valid responses were gathered. Mean age was 32.6 years; 43.1% participants were males, 54.2% were married, and 80.6% had no children; most participants (68.1%) had a college level education. The most reported cause of job resignation was work dissatisfaction (38.9%), followed by inadequate remuneration (27.8%). The most reported perspective for people who had resigned or were planning on resigning, was a better salary (27.8%), followed by the pursuit of a higher work-life balance (25.0%). The perception that having resigned was the right choice was significantly correlated with the timeframe of resignation (p<0.01), with having suffered from COVID-19 (p<0.05), and with a close relative having suffered from COVID-19 (p<0.01). Conclusion: This study highlighted that voluntarily resigning was significantly correlated to having suffered from COVID-19, or a close relative having suffered from it; 84.9% of participants who had resigned thought that it had been the right choice. The COVID-19 pandemic could have changed workplace perception, making employees feel more at risk; the indirect impact of the pandemic should be further investigated, and prevention strategies should be implemented to ensure the safety and wellbeing of employees.