Employee resignation study in Fairfax County

Abstract

The Great Resignation is an economic trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse. Increasing resignations have created hardships for companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article examines the presence of the Great Resignation in Fairfax County, Virginia, the consequences of this phenomenon, and possible solutions that local businesses can adopt to minimize the impact of resignations. We hypothesized that by adding benefits such as hybrid work options and healthcare, local companies can fight increasing resignation rates. We collected and analyzed two types of data to verify the hypothesis. The first type was statistical data published by US federal and local governments. The second type was survey data. We created a ten-question survey (the Fairfax Resignation Survey) and sent it to 2,000 employees in Fairfax County. The questions covered the demography of survey respondents, employee turnover status, impact of increasing resignations, and potential solutions to improve the situation. Based on the survey responses and a comprehensive analysis of statistical data and related studies, we concluded that adding additional benefits is critical for companies to retain talent and restrain the growing resignation rate.