Summary
Although the discussion on “ Great Resignation ” has become widespread in the academic field by the impact of the health crisis in the united states job market, in our country this increase in the number of workers who voluntarily resigning is a growing trend since the year 2014 except the critical period of the pandemic. This paper presents an analysis of this process, its evolution and possible correlation with the volume of vacancies and unemployment rates. It also analyses the significance, for this purpose, nationality and their distribution by sex and sections of activity. As evidenced by the Treasury of Social security, vacancies and the EPA, the volume of resignations is higher than that of vacancies, resignations have grown in more activities linked to hotels and trade.
Keywords:Great Resignation, Voluntary Renunciation Of Citizenship, nationality, sections of activity.
1 Page.
In spring 2021 once more after the Álgida phase of the pandemic, 47 millions of american workers renounced their jobs (Fuller & Kerr, 2022 ). This explosive growth of resignations was coined the term “ great Resignation ” (Klotz, 2022 ). Related to the term above and in reference to the paradigm shift that could be moving forward in the labour market as a result of the pandemic, the phenomenon of “ waiver ” that Silent refers to the limited engagement of workers with the job, making only those tasks assigned in the job of work and renouncing any other task is not specified (& Sfodera Formica, 2022 Harter,; 2022 ).
Both the phenomenon have been the subject of extensive treatment in media and academia from different perspectives (Amanor-Boadu, 2022 Gittleman,; 2022 Rowley,; 2023 ), including on the one hand, if specific phenomena triggered by the shock of the pandemic or of a growing trend in the labour market, and on the other, trying to identify the factors that explain this trend, and if it affects the entire labor force, regardless of their characteristics, and all sectors and companies.
Initially, it was stated as the main cause of the exponential increase in resignations the impact of the pandemic, the fear of contagion and a revaluation of vital priorities that could lead to the work force to the resignation upon return to the physical place of work (Canals & Díez, 2022 ). To that would have contributed the detachment to jobs of poor quality, progressively more precarious conditions, to which the resignation appeared as a tool to retrain and find a better quality employment (Hozić & Sun, 2023 ).
To this cause, of the shock of the pandemic, and given that these continue to be maintained on a high value (Faulds & Raju, 2023 ), despite the fact that has been able to curb the growth of voluntary resignations, adding other reasons, as is the generational change in the labour market (Darden, 2023 ; Tessema et al., 2022 ). Thus, there is a phasing out of the so-called ’ s baby boomers. For this generation, work is central to their lives with professional careers characterized by many years remain at the same organization and who are faithful. Instead, for workers And generations (millennials) and (Z, the centrality of work in their lives is lower, being valued self-fulfilment and personal satisfaction over the work and remuneration, at the same time seeking enterprises where the conciliation with the personal life, respect, recognition, the continued development, justice, tolerance and fairness are values that form part of their business culture (De Smet et al., 2022 Kuzior; et al.,. 2022 ; Parker & Horowitz, 2022 ). The lack of consistency with these values, would lead to voluntarily renounce its work, to be the main factor of waiver the existence of a toxic culture in the organization (Sull et al.,. 2022 ).
In this regard On et al.. ( 2022 ) consider the existence of a toxic culture as a main cause of resignation in an empirical analysis of country profiles 34 million employees in the us than reveals at least four other factors beyond the traditional search for a better salary as main predictor of abandonment. Among them, would be job insecurity, high levels of innovation of the organization, the non-recognition of performance and, fifthly, the lack of policies in the company to protect the health and welfare of employees expressed with a poor response during the health crisis of COVID- 19 .
It may be paradoxical that, in the companies that are at the forefront of innovation voluntary resignations and rotation are higher, but is in line with the fact that the high rate of innovation requires more hours of work for employees to work faster and more stress and thus would conflict with the possibility of reconciliation of work, staff is highly appreciated by new generations.
The increase in voluntary abandonment was expanded to all population groups and activities, but not with equal intensity. Thus, the youngest age groups and lower-skilled rates were higher, as well as manuals and administrative jobs linked to the retail trade, catering and hotel were Also high among employees in the management consulting firms and between technicians and engineers. In addition, businesses, even to triple the rates in some companies with regard to other, of which could be inferred that the business culture could (and can) influence these trends (Sull et al.,. 2022 ).
In Spain, there has also been a growth of employed persons who are looking for a new job, as well as the low for resignations, especially in the year 2022 (Felguerosoet al., 2024 ). In fact, the growth in voluntary resignations of the members of the Social security has continued to a growing trend according to reflect the data of the treasury of Social security since the end of the great recession, from 2013 paradoxically, constituting an exception the years of the pandemic. In addition, this modality of low has a growing weight in all the same without increasing affiliated justifies this significant increase.
Finally, it is curious to see how, although initially these casualties are concentrated mostly among affiliated with temporary contracts, 2021 almost reversed majority now coming indefinite contracts. This growth helped labour reform of 2021 that desincentivó and placed limits on the use of employment and fostering greater temporary indefinite hiring in batch fixed, where this is surely more often the lack of acceptance of and possible successive appeals (Galician Calvoet al., 2024 Felgueroso,; 2024 ).
In this work, we presented an analysis of the voluntary withdrawal between members of the General Social security system, using information of the administrative records of the General treasury of the Social security system available on its website, as well as disaggregated information that for the period 2020 - 2024 it has been provided by the commission. This allows us to carry out the analysis, disaggregated by gender, nationality and sections CNAE judiciously 2009 .
2 . A progressive increase in the size in Spain: more than a timely episode
Against this background, the analysis of the time series of the total number of affiliated to the end of the month of the General Social security system, whose cause of low has been the voluntary resignation (case 51 ), reflects, firstly, that even with clear monthly fluctuations, the number of these has increased almost since the year 2014 .
In fact, as seen from figure 1 during the 13 years offers this administrative statistics of the treasury of Social security, we would have moved from a few more than 62 . 000 participants from the voluntary resignation in january 2012 the more than 213 . 000 in the data, however, still provisional, january 2025 . This is, ultimately, the number of these people in low from resignations at the end of the month, would have more than tripled during this period of time during the General system, resulting in a clear and continuing positive trend line that, far from being a dato episódico timely or appears to reflect a constant evolution for at least the last ten years.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 (e)
In this regard, whether to avoid monthly fluctuations, weighed Only differences learned to compare these same data of members of the General Regime for voluntary resignations in the last day in the months of january of each year, compared to these same data from the same month in the previous year (Figure 2 ) it is clear how this can be constantly positive differential except in the year 2013 remarkably, and in the years especially intense of the pandemic, 2020 and 2021 .
This latest evolution would be well to demonstrate how, despite the fact that this phenomenon of “ great resignation is usually tied to the effect of the pandemic, that is wrong, but on the contrary, at least in the case of Spain. In our country, unlike what happened in the united states, the great resignation is not a phenomenon born, developed and linked primarily to the period of soaring health crisis by the rejection of the vaccinations imposed by companies or the fear of contagion in the work site, as happened in the country in the americas. Quite the contrary, the data seems to show that the development was the reverse auctions as the massive use in our country teleworking, widespread vaccination and lack of dynamism of our market during this period of time that it caused outside the same period 2020 - 2021 producing the only negative growth, and certainly significant in the number of resignations accounted for.
Different issue is that the psychological effects of the pandemic would assist the exponential increase in the year experienced 2022 . This increase, although positive, has been moderate in subsequent years. However, with provisional data shows a small increase in the case of the comparison between the months january 2025 and 2024 so it is necessary to follow up on the future of this aspect.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 (e)
It is true that one might ask whether this significant increase in resignations during these last ten years may be due basically to increase the participation in this regime has enjoyed over the past few years. But as noted in Galician Calvo et al.( 2024 ), and can be seen in figure 3 this increase in low affiliate program is far more intensively than that of the Assembly. We should point out how this ratio rose from 0 , 50 per cent in january 2012 to 1 , 79 per cent in september 2024 .
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 a, 2025 (e)
Moreover, even more significant, at least in our view, is to increase that casualties from resignations have taken during these years in relation to the total number of casualties, always in the General Regime and computando the number of participants at the end of each month. In this regard, and as can be seen in figure 4 this ratio dropped from a low 5 , 3 per cent in january 2012 a 12 , 6 per cent in january 2025 , having even represent a 14 , 3 per cent in february 2023 . Therefore not be a cause for grounds pass to inactivity almost residual, we would have gone to a situation in the twelve out of 100 people are low, as a result of the unilateral will of the employee.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 (e)
3 . Resignations, unemployment rates and vacancy rates
Since these assumptions which also seems clear, and certainly logical, is that there is a clear correlation, positive and negative respectively, between the time evolution in the number of participants in low by voluntary resignation and two other variables statistical sources provided by different but closely connected with this unique evolution.
The first is the total number of vacancies, the Quarterly Survey of Labour cost. The survey captures quarterly information on the unsatisfied demand for labour on the number of vacancies. For this purpose, and in accordance with its methodology (National statistics institute, 2023 ), was considered vacant job position, or have been created recently, or is not territory, or is about to be free and for which the employer is taking active measures in order to find a suitable candidate outside. Any job vacancies, therefore, reflect the unsatisfied demand for labour, as well as possible imbalances between the capacities and availability of the unemployed and workers sought by employers. The survey data, the quarterly comparison is with the quarterly half the number of participants in low from resignations at the end of each month provided by the TGSS (Figure 5 ).
Source: calculations based on national statistics institute ( 2025 a, 2025 (b) and treasury of Social security ( 2025 (e)
Well, in this case, the data shows a significant positive correlation of 0 , 9158 , what is logical, at least in those cases in which the resignation is an instrument for the passage from one activity to another or for a vacant post. Therefore, the “ perception ” of an increase of these vacancies seems to be related to this increase, although it is striking that, in the period that we have data, the number of vacant posts had doubled; the average quarterly resignations have trebled, which seems also to other possible factors such as the need for recycling training or incompatible with the labour, the transition to a family or care of children, or simple neglect by bad work environment.
In any event a similar correlation, in this case no, once again reflected the quarterly average between members of the month in order for voluntary resignation and the unemployment rate provided by the EPA (national statistics institute, 2025 (b) as may be seen clearly in the graph 6 the fall in unemployment is encouraging more resignations, with a correlation in the above-mentioned period of - 0 , 8630 .
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 (e)
4 Resignation and nationality.
In this context, a prime factor to consider is nationality. To that end, we have used as an indicator the rate among the members of the quarterly General Regime for voluntary resignations at the end of each month, distinguishing between nationals and aliens, on the total quarterly affiliates of the General Regime at the end of this month, also considering their nationality (Figure 7 ).
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 (d)
The data show significant differences between spaniards and foreigners during the reporting period 2020 - 2023 (Figure 7 ). Generally, foreigners have prevalence rates of resignations on the Assembly at the end of the month significantly higher than the spanish in every year and quarters analyzed. In particular, aliens registered a rate of 2 , 76 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 score, 194 basic points (p.b.) the spanish people.
This difference not only being maintained; it extends over time, reaching a peak of difference in 227 p.b. in the third quarter of 2022 when the rate of resignations at foreign up 3 , 66 %. These findings suggest that foreigners have a greater number of resignations, with an upward trend and with a sharp increase between the beginning and end of the period under review. And, in contrast, the spanish show behave more stable over the four years, with more moderate growth since the beginning at the time period.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 a, 2025 (d)
Finally, if desagregamos these data by sex (Figure 8 ), the rates are very similar observed between men and women, by nationality, they do take it that this variable is not relevant diferenciadoras features.
5 . Resignations and sectoral structure
If you look for a second factor as would be the sectoral distribution of resignations, data for the years 2020 to 2023 (Figure 9 ) shows a percentage distribution of participants in low by resignation nothing balanced between the various branches of activity. In fact, data show how over the last four years, this group has concentrated on specific sections of activity, while in others this percentage is virtually nil.
In this way, certainly highlights the sections of activity “ I. Hospitality ”, “ G. Wholesale and retail trades; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles ” and “ N. Administrative and auxiliary services ”. These three sections represent alone about 50 per cent of casualties for this reason in 2023 . Whilst, on the opposite side, the sections of activity “ B. Extractive industries ”, “ D. Supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning ”, “ E. Water, sanitation, waste management and decontamination ”, “ T. household Activities: as employers of domestic workers and as producers of goods and services for own use, ” and “ U. Activities of organizations and agencies ” would not represent extraterritorial including 0 , 5 per cent of the total number of people in low by resignation in the same year.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 b, 2025 c, 2025 (e)
Equally, it seems important that this proportional distribution by section of activity is maintained or reiterates each year, reflecting clearly stable patterns during each of the annuities studied. This reflects the need for a specific analysis covering in each section the possible causes of this uneven distribution.
However, it is also clear that these first data can be clearly influenced by the distribution of our employees by the various sectors and industries. It is therefore a need for a second approximation to analyse these data taking into account the percentage that these workers in lower by resignation in each section represent on the total number of subscribers to the same section, without major breakdowns (Figure 10 ).
Under this approach, stresses again the section “ I. Hospitality ”, not only as the highest percentage of participants in low by resignation introduced between the various branches of activity, but also as one in which the percentage of dimisionarios about its members at the end of the month is higher. And you could say something similar under sections “ R. Artistic, recreational and entertainment ” and “ N. Administrative and auxiliary services ”.
On the other hand, and from this second perspective, it is striking that taking only data of the past two years, this rate would be particularly high in sections as “ F. Construction ”, but also in sections such as “ A. Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries ”, or at least for the years 2020 and 2022 U, “ Activities of organizations and agencies ” that extraterritorial, as we saw in the graph 9 initiating a low percentage of resignations on total annual these to all sections.
In contrast, and in the other extreme, note other sections, as outlined above “ D. Supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning ”, “ E. Water, sanitation, waste management and decontamination, ” and “ T. household Activities: as employers of domestic workers and as producers of goods and services for own use ”, together with others such as “ K. Financial activities and insurance ” or “ O. Public administration and defence; compulsory social insurance ”, which are lower than the values 0 , 5 per cent per annum.
Source: calculations based on General treasury of Social security ( 2025 and, 2025 (b)
In any case, and to analyse these data in a period of time, the trend line represented show that the total number of casualties has slowly improved over time, in most areas. They are particularly those characterized by high turnover and seasonality, such as catering and entertainment, outlined above.
This development, 2020 and 2023 , where most sectors have experienced an increase in these rates, may be due to various factors, including changes in working conditions, greater turnover or even delayed impact of the pandemic in certain activities. While the exception to this general trend submitted by some sectors already discussed, which have remained fairly stable or even have been a slight reduction in casualties, could be linked to its structure with adjustments to working or post-pandemic.
On the other hand, it must be emphasized that “ P. Education ” and “ Q. Health activities and of social services ” have maintained a moderate, but sustained growth, suggesting a relative stability within these sectors essential, but “ U. Activities extraterritorial organizations and agencies ”, is the Only sector that has been a significant decrease in 2023 , which could respond to changes in legislation or in the specific conditions in this area. Similarly, the “ J. Information And communications ” has experienced a slight decline in 2023 after a period of growth, and this could indicate a stabilization following the momentum of digitalisation accelerated by the pandemic.
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