This Working Life: How to lessen the fallout of employee exodus

The ‘great resignation’ has taken hold in Ireland, with 42 per cent of Irish workers planning to leave their jobs in the next year, and employers need to be prepared

Well-drafted employment contracts containing appropriate notice, garden leave, confidential information and restrictive covenants will be essential in the case of high levels of staff turnover. Picture: Getty

Over the last six months, a pandemic-related phenomenon has rocked the working world. With large numbers of Irish employees leaving their jobs over the summer and autumn, it appears the so-called great resignation has taken hold in Ireland.

The term was first coined by Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, after a record four million people resigned from employment in the US in April 2021. Surveys indicate a similar trend ...