In the times of Covid-19, many people are posting TikTok videos documenting their resignations.
A 27-year-old woman in the United States quit her high-paying job in a TikTok video. She told Fortune magazine that the decision came about after hard thinking during the coronavirus pandemic about her skills and ambitions.
Marisa Mayes worked in the field of medical device sales, which required her to constantly speak to customers and do analytical tasks. Mayes said she liked doing creative work.
“Trying to force myself to do a job like that required so much effort,” Mayes told Fortune. “It took COVID hitting to make me realize I was still unhappy, even in this big fancy job.”
Mayes recorded a video about her resignation experience and uploaded it on TikTok. She told Fortune magazine that she was not worried about how future employers would react to it.
“If I ever do go back and find a quote-unquote normal job, and they were concerned about my video, I’d probably get up and leave,” Mayes told the magazine. “If you see that video as disrespectful to the company, or as unprofessional, it’s clear you don’t value transparency or authenticity.”
Mayes did not name her employer in the video. The woman told Fortune she had problems with her former colleagues and boss but the video was not about them. Mayes said that for her, the video was about “taking control and making an empowered decision”.
Mayes’ video went viral on TikTok and gets thousands of views every day, according to Fortune. Presently, she works as a consultant with those who want to earn through the video-sharing platform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a wave of resignations. American academic Anthony Klotz has coined the term “The Great Resignation” to sum up the situation.
A study, by Ian Cook of Harvard Business Review, which took into account 9 million employees across different sectors, found that between 2020 and 2021, resignation rates were the highest among employees aged between 30 and 45.
Resignation rates were higher in technology and health sectors, where employees most likely struggled with burnout and increased workload.
“The Great Resignation” gave rise to social media trends like “QuitTok” as people began sharing videos on TikTok about quitting their jobs.
