‘The great resignation’: The ambivalences of the liquid employee facing a consumerist work relationship

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In early 2021, many workers in OECD countries, especially France, decided to resign, a phenomenon commonly known as ‘the Great Resignation’. Based on 41 interviews with employees who voluntarily left their jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis and building on the work of Zygmunt Bauman, our research unveils the emergence of “liquid employees”, trapped in a vicious circle of consumption. Organisations consider employees as consumer goods, and in return, the latter become consumers of organisations through frequent job-hopping. Our findings also highlight how this consumerist work relationship is embedded in a process of adiaphorisation of organisations and managers and how resignation represents more of a necessity than a choice for liquid employees.