As a society, we did not expect that someday the problem wouldn’t be that people are jobless, but that people are resigning their jobs all at once. Some call it the “Great Resignation”, others call it the “Workforce Crisis”. What they both have in common is that it is a significant issue affecting not only the Private Sector but also Local Government.

The reality is far from what it used to be more than 20 years ago when the US economy was facing a recession. During that time unemployment rose to 5.6%, leaving 8 million people without a job. Today, we live in a system that is going through an unrivaled issue. Last year, in 2021, the State and Local Government sector lost nearly 1.5 million workers. Disconformity is one of the top reasons why people are quitting and looking for other jobs. Employees that don’t feel comfortable with their working conditions are saying bye-bye to their current situations and saying hello to new opportunities. They have discovered that they are more valuable than they thought. Coming to the realization that employers are not meeting their expectations, has led them to look for something else. In some cases, that looks like early retirement. This has become another factor playing an important role in local govs with the worker's acceleration of their retirement plans.

A study carried out by MissionSquare states that 38% of Local Governments in the survey affirm their workers are looking forward to retiring earlier than planned. In fact, we conducted a study for a city in the North West, and confirmed that 58% of their employees did look for other employment in the last 6 months. This leaves a huge leadership pipeline problem. Local Governments are facing an increase in available jobs and less-qualified people to fill those jobs. But what happens to those who decide to stay? The remaining employees are struggling with longer working hours and higher stress levels. According to Harvard Business Review, and several private municipal studies we’ve completed in the last 4 months, interpersonal communication, making a judgment, and managing emotional reactions have become more difficult when employees are exhausted and overworked. Not only will they become less productive, but it could lead to putting their mental and physical health at risk.

In the past ten years, we’ve been able to show that a solid, intentional Culture Strategy has been an effective strategy in increasing retention, recruitment retention, and productivity increase. Today, workplace culture is the key to success.

-       Dr. Maria Church

Dr. Maria Church is a professional speaker and CEO of Government Leadership Solutions, a woman-owned, minority-owned, boutique consulting firm with over 25 years of experience in developing and delivering creative and effective Organizational and Leadership Development programs to local governments.

She may be reached at Maria.Church@GovernmentLeadershipSolutions.com.