The Great Resignation was born out of a pandemic that saw employees leave their jobs en masse in search of more autonomy, higher pay, and new lines of work. Unfortunately, even as places of work and education are opening their doors again, not everyone is eager to walk back through them. For higher education specifically, the Great Resignation of educators stands to have a long-lasting negative impact on the next generation unless colleges adapt to the changing landscape, invest in educators, and make real learning (and not just test passing) the priority.
Much like everyone else, professors faced severe burnout during the pandemic amid constant adjustments to COVID protocols that required rapidly transitioning from in-person teaching to online learning. The abrupt shift created a whole host of logistical challenges from class discussions via Zoom, to drafting new course plans that fit an online and/or hybrid learning environment. At the same time, professors are also dealing with the same anxieties facing other Americans, including economic stress due to rising inflation and struggles with finding childcare. 
Dr. Guadalupe Vasquez King
As a result of these and other factors, professors are fleeing the profession.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed a decline in postsecondary instructor employment between May 2020 and May 2021 (1,369,930 versus 1,340,560). Meanwhile, the American Association of University Professors’ annual faculty salary survey report shows a 0.6 percent dip in overall faculty head counts between fall 2019 and fall 2021.
As professors left, universities also implemented hiring freezes, so even those looking to enter the field were unable to find jobs, with faculty job openings at U.S. institutions down 70% from 2019 to 2020.
