Prince Harry says increase in job resignations is ‘something to be celebrated’

The public is having a ‘mental health awakening’, Duke of Sussex says

Prince Harry meets the Invictus Games Choir at Abbey Road Studios (Getty Images)

The Duke of Sussex has described a recent wave in people leaving their jobs, the so-called “Great Resignation”, as “something to be celebrated”.

In an interview with Fast Company , published on Monday 6 December, Prince Harry said the resignations pointed to a shift in people “putting their mental health and happiness first”.

The royal was speaking on behalf of BetterUp, a San Francisco-based company which provides mental health services to businesses – of which he is the chief impact officer.

“I’ve actually discovered recently...that a lot of the job resignations you mention aren’t all bad. In fact, it is a sign that with self-awareness comes the need for change,” he said.

“Many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn’t bring them joy, and now they’re putting their mental health and happiness first. This is something to be celebrated.”

According to a Microsoft report that surveyed 30,000 workers across the globe, 41 per cent were considering quitting their job or changing careers.

Additionally, research by HR software company Personio found that 38 per cent of UK workers were planning on quitting their current jobs.

Harry, who has been vocal about his own mental health struggles in the past, said the pandemic had spurred a “mental health awakening”.

“While on the surface it looks like these last couple of years brought all these issues to the foreground, the reality is these struggles and issues have been brewing for quite some time,” he said.

“This work has never been more important because people are finally paying attention.”

In May, Harry released The Me You Can’t See, a five-part documentary series which aimed to break down the stigmas around mental health through interviews with celebrities including Lady Gaga and Glenn Close.

It also saw Harry open up about the impact of Princess Diana’s death in several conversations with Oprah Winfrey.

Recalling his struggles with his mental health, the royal said he did not begin to deal with the trauma of his mother’s death until four years ago.

He said it was only during an argument with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, that he realised he had anger he needed to deal with.

“I quickly established that if this relationship was gonna work, that I was gonna have to deal with my past, because there was anger there, and it wasn’t anger at her, it was just anger. And [Meghan] recognised it, she saw it,” he said.