Spurred on in part by the pandemic, more than 47 million people quit their jobs in 2021, a mass exodus from the workforce that has become known as The Great Resignation. The unprecedented movement exacerbated an already severe labor shortage that employers have been coping with for years.

The post-pandemic exodus was not merely a one-time phenomenon but was the continuation of a long-term trend. For a decade, each year from 2009 to 2019, the percentage of people leaving the workforce increased, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number declined in 2020, as the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic caused workers to hang on to their jobs and paychecks. But it returned in a big way in 2021, as people reevaluated their lives, their work, and their purpose.