“Big Quit” in post-Covid pandemic: The liquid employees facing organizational consumerism

Vincent Meyer (), Jean-Denis Culié (), Xavier Philippe (), Jean-François Garcia, Thomas Sorreda and Luc Tessier ()
Additional contact information
Vincent Meyer: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Jean-Denis Culié: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Xavier Philippe: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Jean-François Garcia: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Thomas Sorreda: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School
Luc Tessier: Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie = EM Normandie Business School

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: In early 2021, many workers in OECD countries, especially France, decided to resign, a phenomenon commonly known as ‘the Big Quit'. Based on 41 interviews with employees who voluntarily left their jobs in the wake of the Covid-19 health crisis, our research unveils a seemingly mundane but also very intense psychological violence that rules workplace relationships and leads to the emotional exhaustion of individuals. Our findings show that the Covid-19 crisis acted as a catalyst in contemporary organizations, fostering the emergence of a liquid employee for whom resignation represents more a necessity than a choice. They also reveal how the liquid employee is trapped in a consumerist work relationship that considers him or her as a commodity rather than a person, leading to a higher likelihood of changing jobs when faced with difficulties at work.

Date: 2023-07-06
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in 39th EGOS Colloquium, Università degli studi di Cagliari, Jul 2023, Cagliari, Italy. ⟨10.5465/AMPROC.2024.232bp⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04963750

DOI: 10.5465/AMPROC.2024.232bp

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().