Changing Jobs During Covid-19

Lateral transfer of highly experienced professionals during the pandemic and when we transition to the endemic phase may create a long-term implication for the labor market. There will be a career shock to new graduates transitioning from school to work and people thinking of finding a job for a career change as they compete with highly experienced professionals and retirees returning to the workforce. Rejigging the organizational structure to recover what is lost during the pandemic, an impact of a chance event gives spots for accomplished, retired MDs, master or Ph.D. level professionals who could contribute beneficially to the organization's future survival. If you are currently employed, is it the right time to test the waters with the impending doom of a recession? If you have the experience that could be an asset to any organization, why not? But, if you are planning for a career transition where you do not have anything to offer to the organization, then you will be in the same situation as those with lower skills who lost their jobs during the pandemic. There are five central theoretical perspectives of career transitions: career stage, decision-making, adjustment, relational, and identity. The combination of adjustment and decision-making is the current emerging trend that could linger until we transition from pandemic to endemic.

According to Howe et al. (2021), post-pandemic organizational considerations and actions require critical questions to answer. While the question on the capacity to maintain or rehire individuals employed before the pandemic, can the organization be able to hire new employees? The ramification of the pandemic regarding organizational considerations and actions is the paradigm shift in motivating current employees to remain loyal through advancement opportunities and re-entry of expatriates. The complete interruption caused by the pandemic calls for organizational measures such as training or re-training existing employees for advancement opportunities and strengthening intra-organizational career resilience, making it unusually competitive for new graduates or individuals testing the waters for a career change. Resilience is often a topic of conversation as we face continued disruptions brought about by the pandemic and today's turbulent economic environment exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the impending recession. As major banks upgraded their forecasts of the possibility of a recession over the next year, retirees may be lured to offers from former employers to return since they still have a lot to offer for long-term organizational success. According to the New York times, analysts at Goldman Sachs put the probability of a recession at 30 percent, and economists at Bank of America predict a 40 percent chance of a recession in 2023. Therefore organizations must understand and respond to the multiple paradigm shifts on providing and refreshing skillsets, organizations sponsoring loyal employees in skill development opportunities. Efforts to invest in its people will increase the likelihood of employees staying and being more productive for the organization.

References
Akkermans, J., Seibert, S. E., & Mol, S. T. (2018). Tales of the unexpected: Integrating career shocks in the contemporary careers literature. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 44(1), 1-10.
Howe, D. C., Chauhan, R. S., Soderberg, A. T., & Buckley, M. R. (2021). Paradigm shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizational Dynamics, 50(4), 100804.
Sullivan, S. E., & Al Ariss, A. (2021). Making sense of different perspectives on career transitions: A review and agenda for future research. Human Resource Management Review, 31(1), 100727.