The pandemic pushed people to reevaluate their jobs. Meet 5 who reinvented themselves

We've all heard about the Great Resignation, as 4.4 million U.S. workers quit their jobs each month in 2021. But in some ways, the shift just as easily might have been dubbed the Great Reinvention.

Scores of people changed jobs in search of higher pay, better working conditions and career development opportunities. And as remote work brought on by the pandemic continued, many found it easier to relocate to a new city or devote would-be commuting hours to the pursuit of other interests.

Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at London's UCL School of Management, says that while resignation rates in the U.S. had been steadily increasing over the past decade, a combination of factors — including burnout, the autonomy of remote work and the existential reflections wrought by the pandemic — pushed many people to reevaluate what they were giving and getting from their jobs.

And Klotz would know: He's credited with predicting the Great Resignation and coining the term last May.

Consider: Half of employees surveyed in a fall 2021 U.S. Catalyst/CNBC poll said they intended to make career changes as a result of the pandemic, with most citing the desire for location flexibility. And a Prudential survey conducted in February found that 22% of workers switched jobs during the pandemic, with another 50% actively looking for a new job. Of those who changed jobs, one-third said they took a pay cut in exchange for better work-life balance.

"I think people are reinventing themselves in a way that the time and energy they put into their days pays them back at a higher rate, psychologically speaking, than it did in their prior job or whatever they were doing before the pandemic," Klotz explains.

Change is here to stay, even as we move past the pandemic

Importantly, not all workers were afforded such opportunities. Many low-wage, gig and essential workers weren't able to work from home or change jobs.

That said, according to Saba Waheed, research director at the UCLA Labor Center, the pandemic ignited conversations around work and working conditions across many sectors — discussions about livable wages, accessible child care and family leave, for instance — that she hopes will continue even as many industries return to.