There are multiple ways to get people to resign. This article of the economist focuses on different ways that employers get employees to resign. They also give attention to a paper by Robert Dur, Professor of Economics of Incentives at Erasmus School of Economics, and Heiner Schmittdiel.
Employers often use voluntary redundancy as a mutually agreed way to reduce staff numbers. However, they have also been known to use subtle tactics to push employees toward resigning rather than having to fire them. This can include making their work environment unpleasant. Offering financial incentives to quit increases the cost for employees to pretend they enjoy their job. However, as researchers Robert Dur and Heiner Schmittdiel highlight, such schemes can have unintended effects if they are always available—some individuals might join a company solely to resign and collect the payout. There are also more subtle approaches to encourage resignations, such as engaging employees in discussions about their job satisfaction and sense of fulfilment. And in that way nudging them towards resignation.
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You can download the full article from the Economist, 13 February 2025, above.
