The Great Resignation. Legal perspectives

Abstract

The Great Resignation is a phenomenon specific to a certain time and place, but similar things are happening in other countries, which can be considered “small resignations”. It is not so much a rejection of work as of certain types of it, those that the labour market is generating in the 21st century, which are not valued by the people who are entering it. There is a flight from the labour market, a real Trabexit. This paper defines this phenomenon from a legal perspective, with special attention to the legal consequences of leaving a job. From there, it will reflect on the existence of a “right to decide” about work and its impact on one’s own life. Finally, attention will be paid to some last-generation rights that are appearing in our legal system, which affect this decision-making capacity of individuals.