The Great Resignation, quiet-quitting, and a looming recession have caused major changes to the labor force. First, workers quit in droves due to a pandemic-induced burnout. Then, some of the ones who stayed on the job quietly started doing the minimum work required.
And more recently have come mass layoffs. The job cuts that started in the second half of 2022 have seeped into 2023, threatening workers across a number of industries, especially tech.
The latest trend is young men with at least bachelor’s degrees spending fewer hours working, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research earlier this month found. They spent an average of 14 hours less annually on the job between 2019 and 2022.
The decline was far less over the same period for similarly qualified women, who worked three fewer hours.
"The pandemic may have motivated people to re-evaluate their life priorities and also gotten them accustomed to more flexible work arrangements (e.g., work from home), leading them to choose to work fewer hours, especially if they can afford it,” the report said.
