Kathryn Hymes: The 'Great Resignation’ Misses the Point

In today’s episode we chat to the wonderful Kathryn Hymes. Kathryn is a computational linguist, co-founder of Thorny Games, and a writer whose work on language, technology, and music has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times and more recently Wired.

On November 1st 2021, Kathryn wrote an article entitled, the ‘Great Resignation’ Misses the Point, as around the world, people are quitting their jobs in record numbers and bosses are scrambling to figure out why. The phrase itself, originated in early May, at a time in which Professor Anthony Klotz, warned that “The Great Resignation is coming” as part of an interview held with Bloomberg.

A few weeks later, the Bureau for Labour Statistics confirmed, a record 4 million Americans had left their jobs in April. The trend proved to be a global one, as within the UK, job vacancies grew to an all-time high in July and September, with available posts surpassing 1.1 million. Suddenly, people were reaching for ways to refer to this new phenomenon unfolding before them—to brand it and to make sense of it.

Within this episode, Kathryn and I discussed the origins of her article, and how it forms part of a much wider transformation taking place within the global society today. We also discuss, how by embracing an era of narrative, we can derive more meaning by focusing on the root causes rather than a simple slogan.

This is a truly wonderful conversation that you’re not going to want to miss!! So without further ado, please sit back, relax and we do hope you enjoy.

Links: 

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-10/quit-your-job-how-to-resign-after-covid-pandemic
• https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/4-million-people-quit-their-jobs-in-april-to-find-better-work.html
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58881124
• https://www.wired.com/story/great-resignation-misses-the-point/
• https://thornygames.com
• https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/05/family-secret-language-familect/618871/
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/arts/music/violin-music-chop.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/business/how-facebook-taught-its-search-tool-to-understand-people.html

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