Is resignation actually great?

Millions of pandemic-affected workers have quit their jobs. You have to wonder if they might be making the right choice.

How you gonna get ‘em back to the job, after they’ve seen their home? (Photo by Jason Strull on Unsplash)

This latest phase of the pandemic is The Great Resignation, according to some clever phrase maker, since a record number of people are quitting their jobs — more than 4 million people, or almost 3 percent of the nation’s workforce, in August alone.¹ What’s up with that?

The restaurant industry has been especially hobbled, and as a guy who waited tables to help finance my college education, I can understand. I still remember my first big tip, when a couple left $30 on the table to cover a $22 check. That was a sizeable gratuity in those days.

“I got eight bucks from that deuce!” I boasted to the newly-minted assistant manager. He had been one of us on the floor until a few days before.

“Yeah?” he said, trying not to sound envious, I figured. “You’re gonna blow it on beer later, aren’t you?” He fiddled with the cash register. “There’s no way to get ahead in this business,” he said, “unle…