Why are millennials and Gen Z quitting good jobs?

Instead of staying on the treadmill, some are opting for work that makes them happy

We’ve all heard about the Great Resignation.

An unprecedented number of workers have packed up and quit their jobs. Over 47 million resigned last year.

You’ve heard the rationale. COVID has created terrible worker shortages, employers are desperate for staff and workers stuck in low-paying or unpleasant jobs now have options.

They can quit with the knowledge that there are plenty of job openings, often for a better placement. That makes sense.

But there’s an interesting subset to the great resigners. These are the workers, often millennials and Gen Z folk, who have good jobs with good salaries and have still decided to walk away.

And, it seems, many of them are not coming back.

Some 14 million potential workers between the ages of 20 and 34 are “not considered part of the workforce,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In other words, they weren’t working and they weren’t looking for work.

The easy conclusion is “burnout.” Sure, you say, of course they left those high-pressure, high-paying jobs. The hours were probably crazy and the work/life balance was likely nonexistent.

And that may be true in some cases. But if you ask someone like 35-year-old Jeff Sun, who left a successful startup in the hospitality industry, he’ll say he didn’t mind the hours. And he actually enjoyed the job.

But Sun, who attended both Yale and M.I.T.,  says the pandemic has given him time for some healthy introspection. 

“I felt like, my whole life, I was kind of on this path,” he said. “It was laid out in front of me and I just walked the path. I had never really taken the time to understand: What are the things I enjoy? What are the things that give me energy?”

And that is why, six months ago, Sun resigned from his tech job and now spends his days . . . 

. . . throwing pottery at a San Francisco studio.

Or consider 42-year-old Scott Lawrie. He went to the University of Missouri, studying at one of the most prestigious journalism schools in the country. He moved to New York City and landed a dream job as a writer for a national, late night television show. (He’s asked us not to name it, but believe me you’d recognize it.)

And he followed that with an even trendier job. He worked for a wildly successful YouTube celebrity. (Again, Lawrie requested privacy, but the YouTuber has over one million subscribers.)

And he quit both of those jobs and is now . . . 

. . . a dog groomer at a local pet store.

“I think sometimes people see these life shifts and think, ‘Oh man, he must have really burned out,’” Lawrie said. “But really I don’t know that I could have found a better job in New York. It’s just sometimes that’s kind of an amazing time to walk away.”

Now, we should say something right away. Both Sun and Lawrie, without being prompted, acknowledged they are both coming from a position of entitlement. That having the wherewithal to take time off to follow your bliss is not available to everyone.

“This is 100% a position of privilege,” Lawrie said. “I know that is not a reality for so many individuals. The ability to have saved up money, have health insurance and a fallback plan is not lost on me.”

“I know not everyone can do this,” Sun said. “But I think more people can do it than they think. I think a lot of people have worked their entire life and haven’t thought about doing something different. They kind of assume that has to be their life.”

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Sun made a conscious decision to leave his cushy job, knowing that he could take time off.

Lawrie is more of a fearless leap. He moved to New York without a job, and worked in a clothing store until he got a break. Then he moved back to San Francisco without prospects and spent some time doing food deliveries on his bicycle. Then he was hired for the YouTube job and he was back making serious money.

And then, one day he told his then-partner he was going to become a dog groomer.

His partner’s response: “Really?”

“Look,” he said. “We have two very nervous dogs who are technically seniors. If I hate it, at least I learned how to groom them. And if I love it, ta-da, that’s the next step.”

Although leaving his job was a dramatic step, Sun says not a lot of people told him he was making a mistake.

“It was more like wonderment and amazement,” he said. “People were like, ‘That’s so brave of you.’ Or ‘I always wanted to do something like that.’ And I totally get why it is scary. I was scared too.”

Once out of the workforce, he needed another outlet. On a whim he took a suggestion from his partner to take a pottery class.

“And I loved it,” he said. “You are literally creating a physical object. I envisioned it and I created it. Because in our current day jobs, it feels like everything is being done in the abstract, right? You’re just a piece of the puzzle rather than seeing the entire puzzle.”

So is Sun on his way to becoming a full time potter?

Nope. In fact, he wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t done with the business world. He’s still getting calls from recruiters and he’s listening to their pitches.

But now, he feels, he’s got a better perspective.

“The compensation doesn’t motivate me as much any more,” he said. “Or the job title. I’m not going to try to make it work because it would be a good salary or a career opportunity. I know what makes me happy.”

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Lawrie turned to caring for pets in part because of the death of his mother in 2019.

“One of the things that has actually helped with grief is intense physical labor,” Lawrie said. “It prevents your mind from getting stuck in a rut. I very much enjoy taking care of the animals.”

It has been a bit of a wild ride. Among other things, he’s been “bit in the head by a chow-chow and had to get 12 staples.” He’s been given pinkeye by a “client” and been nipped by a chihuahua.

But he says he does enjoy interacting with the pet parents.

The other day a woman came in and they fell into conversation. Gradually she began to open up and talk about the stresses at her job.

“And she started to ask me about what it was like to do my job,” he said. “And she intimated that she might be thinking about doing it.”

Lawrie knew the deal. Both he and Sun say they know others who are stepping away from their high-powered jobs.

“I put her in contact with someone,” he said. “And we will see what the journey will be like.”

But we know one thing. 

The quest continues.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Twitter: @cwnevius