Another factor in this is that SOME employers/managers treated people with respect and consideration around the Pandemic; ensure the workers were equipped to work from home etc etc. Those workplaces generally seem to have had less retention issues.
Other employers absolutely took the **** during the Pandemic, only doing the bare minimum when they had to (even if they could afford to do considerably more), leaving staff feeling stressed, undervalued, and very concerned about their health, especially when in some cases it mean outbreaks at work (sometimes more than once), and multiple people sick, some with long term COVID after-effects, for no other reason than arrogance, some managers making stupid decisions, and some companies treating the entire thing like a joke, or trying to do the least they could get away with, despite the mounting evidence otherwise.
It's no surprise that when there were unfortunately a SIGNIFICANT number of Column B companies, that those companies are now getting a significant turnover and it was going to have a significant impact long term; even if they were too short sighted to see it at the time, now that the job market is opening back up again.
People will take many things in tandem for a pay check; but being undervalued, and being made to feel like your company doesn't care if you or your family's health are being risked by their inadequate, inconsiderate decisions and policies does very, VERY bad things for staff retention and loyalty.
I was lucky during the pandemic, and my direct manager and management have been reasonable about the vast majority of things; other people I know have had much worse experiences.
I am not looking forward to the return to the commute (2-3 hours every day), but at the same time, I will gladly return knowing my company at least has some decency and values us and our health, to at least some degree; especially compared to how others I know have been treated, some of them after getting very sick from COVID, and STILL being treated like basic, common sense requests weren't worth their companies' times.
To say I am unsurprised there is a massive wave of resignations in this country and elsewhere around the world right now, would be an understatement.