The Great Resignation and Its Impact in Behavioral Health and Social Services

"The Great Resignation" refers to the large numbers of people who were quitting or changing jobs in the aftermath of COVID-19. This qualitative study was conducted with twenty-seven social service and behavioral health agencies in early 2022. The study sought to understand how behavioral health and social service agencies fared during the Great Resignation. Agency managers interviewed in this study discussed six themes including: 1) Loss of Staff & Burnout; 2) Pressure & Increasing Need; 3) Retention & Workplace Culture; 4) Salary; 5) Benefits; and 6) Recruitment Challenges. Practice and policy implications include the need for higher reimbursement rates and the importance of employee benefits and workplace culture to retention. 2022 was a time of high quit rates among employees in mental health and social services which were likely due to pandemic burnout.Employers noted that the pressure in many social and behavioral services sector positions increased during the pandemic, and this created a great deal of stress and burnout for the workforce.Reimbursement rates for services are too low and this makes it difficult for agencies to pay the salaries needed to retain high quality staff. Advocacy around reimbursement rates is needed.Benefits, including health insurance, licensure supervision, and virtual work, are important considerations for employees in behavioral health and social service sector positions.