The United States is on track to record 46 million quits this year, which is known as the Great Resignation. As the economy rebounded in the spring, scores of people took their chance at a surge of job openings to jump to something with higher pay, better working conditions, more flexibility or an entirely new field.
Many workers began to see a new option for their careers in 2021: quitting without another job lined up.
Three women were interviewed by CNBC about how they prepared their finances.
In Oak Park, California, Giselle Sitdykova says quitting without another job lined up was never in the picture.
The man worked for a mortgage company. She was able to work from home during the Pandemic. She was able to spend more time with her son and dream about launching her own business, a website that would give personal recommendations to help people planning to move based on data like lifestyle, weather and community preferences.
In the spring of 2021, her employer said everyone would have to be back in-office, so she hoped to use her free time to build her business. She decided to quit and become her own boss.
To finance her new company, and to prepare for zero income, Sitdykova refinanced her personal residence and rental property near Los Angeles. The property values on both have doubled since she bought them. She took out a home equity line of credit and did a cash-out refinance. She got a $500,000 lump sum.
She put half of the payment into her business and her living expenses and the rest into savings.
Extra activities and home maintenance projects that weren't pressing were cut. She no longer has to pay for after-school care for her son because she is now working from home full-time.
She had to prepare mentally, too, as she said it was like moving from a nice house to an empty lot and starting to build from the foundation up, where you hope that at some point what you build will be bigger than the house you once had.
She is confident that she will be prepared for the new phase of her life and career. Sitdykova came to the United States 20 years ago. I didn't have a home or a job, and I didn't know English. I was alone. I have a son. I am doing this for my family as well as myself.
In New York City, Soundara had a conversation with her doctor about her unhappiness. She realized that the stress of the Pandemic and 18 months of non-stop work as a product marketing lead were taking a toll on her mental and physical health. She gave herself three months to quit and take the rest of the year off.
Soundara was able to save more than half of her paycheck because she wasn't spending on shopping or going out. She let the lease on her apartment expire in April of 2021. She was able to work from home and spent the next few months hopping around short-term rentals, staying with her parents in Seattle, and house-sitting for her cousin in Seattle. She did low-cost extended stays in Hawaii and Europe for a few months after she quit to see her family for the holidays.
She says she took the opportunity to be a nomad. She knows that she wouldn't have been able to do this if she had a family or other financial obligations. She will return to the job market next year.
Becker quit her job to preserve her mental health.
She accepted a job at a dog boarding and day-care facility in May. After being laid off from her retail job, she was eager to get back to work.
Problems began immediately. Becker was assigned to work mornings that began at 4:30 a.m. instead of working the day shift. She didn't get along with her boss and was asked to do work outside of her job description. Her request to take off work to care for her uncle was denied.
She says she wanted to cry when she got into the car after work. I didn't want to do it anymore.
Becker says her boyfriend encouraged her to quit after one particularly stressful shift. She would use her side hustle selling artwork online to pay for groceries after he agreed to cover the bills.
She was worried about how long it would take for her to find a job, but after she quit, she had two interviews lined up.
Becker had to make sure she didn't rush into another bad decision. She says it was difficult to find a company that cares for its workers and doesn't underpay.
Becker accepted a job at Starbucks not too far from her house after a month of interviews. She feels better about her work hours. Starbucks has an employee benefit that will cover 100% of the cost of online classes at Arizona State University.
Check it out.
Workers are quitting their jobs to put themselves first.
Now that they have made it to management, they are wondering if they want to be the boss.
A workplace happiness expert says that workers quitting en masse is a great thing.
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