MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Can't Fill Jobs? Deconstruct Them

The surge of workers leaving their jobs as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on — adding to employers’ talent woes in the midst of an already tight labor market — has drawn predictable responses. Organizations are typically reacting to the Great Resignation with increased pay and flexibility and better, more personalized benefits. But these are short-term solutions to a long-term problem. If the job opportunities your company offers are the same as everyone else’s, and pay and benefits are your only differentiator, then you will continue to churn through workers in an ever-escalating war for talent and an ever-escalating cost structure.

About the Author

Ravin Jesuthasan is global leader for transformation services at Mercer and a member of the World Economic Forum’s steering committee on work and employment.

John W. Boudreau is a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a senior research scientist at its Center for Effective Organizations.