Though the maxim goes that finding a job you love means you’ll never work a day in your life, the past two years have unearthed a counterpoint: Devotion to an employer is often a one-sided romance.In many industries, the pandemic revealed just how transactional the workplace is, and how hollow and fickle the relationship is.

Your Employer Does Not Love You Like You Do

People have defined themselves through their labour for centuries—think of surnames such as Baker, Brewer, Potter, and Weaver that spell out a person’s profession. But Americans’ work and identities intertwine particularly tightly, thanks to the country’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/puritans-american-society/398138/">industrious Puritan roots</a> and capitalist ethos. There is a sudden mental adjustment that so many people taking part in the “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/great-resignation-accelerating/620382/">Great Resignation</a>” have had to make:More and more Americans are realizing that voluntarily leaving your job today isn’t always just about securing a better lifestyle; it’s also about the redefinition of self.

We Are What We Do

The idea that our society is a meritocracy is also hammered into us from childhood. It’s common to believe that making our job a central component of our identity is noble because it’s sure to lead to some great payoff. So even though the coronavirus pandemic upended people’s lives and changed their priorities, the idea that an individual’s worth is tied to their productivity remains deeply ingrained in many of us.

The Job Is The Center Of Our Universe

That a job doesn’t have to be a defining feature of your personality—or even a passion—is a new mindset for many Americans.The Great Resignation is not a complete rejection of work. For many, it’s about redefining themselves as people first instead of workers. As Americans discern that their job title isn’t the most central part of their identity, smart employers will realize they need to give more space to employees to develop other parts of themselves and develop other parts of their lives that they’ve been sacrificing for so long.

The New American Identity

The “Great Resignation” isn’t really about rejecting work—it’s about redefining one’s sense of self.The people who have found new fulfillment outside their career remind us that tectonic change in American society begins with individuals realigning their life to reflect their deepest values.

From Individual To Universal

Many people who participated in the Great Resignation have the capacity to be a friend who says yes to weeknight plans, a present partner to their fiancé, and a son or daughter who checks in with their mom regularly. These people can have thoughts on their own that have nothing to do with work and are no longer just careerists.

Not Just A Careerist

The “Great Resignation” isn’t really about rejecting work—it’s about redefining one’s sense of self.