By continuing to use this site you agree to our Cookies Policy.

Is Every Marketer About to Quit Their Job?

Is Every Marketer About to Quit Their Job?
Table of Contents
  1. Template item

This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

We’ve been hearing a lot about what one management professor has termed “The Great Resignation.” Surveys suggest 40% of people and 60% of marketers want to switch jobs in 2021.

So, a few weeks ago, we surveyed Raisin Bread readers to see whether or not this is for real.

Here’s what you had to say about the upcoming talent “exodus.”

Your answers, by the numbers...

Does marketing have a wave of resignations coming?

78% 👍  | 22% 👎

Are you personally planning to quit your job?

48% 👍  |  52% 👎

…and your reasoning.

While a slight majority of you don’t plan to quit your jobs, almost all of you see a major upheaval coming to marketing as an industry. Here’s why.

Marketers feel sidelined in their orgs…

“People aren't getting the support and resources they need [and] senior level people aren't listening to lower level employees,” one reader wrote.

...and stuck with monotonous work.

That lack of resources leaves teams without room to experiment or innovate.

That’s especially true in B2B marketing, where “marketers keep following the same short-term tactics and formulas,” one respondent wrote — think quarterly reports, partner webinars and predictable content.

“So many I know are quitting… [because t]hey're bored and nearly robots.”

Many of you want to work from home permanently.

Your employers, not so much. Leaders at Apple, Amazon and beyond want to return to the office full-time (or most-of-the-time) — over objections from their teams.

Some marketers have ethical qualms about what they’re doing.

Some companies, like Ahrefs, follow a code of ethics in their marketing — but others just want to make a buck. That takes a toll on morale.

Burnout is everywhere.  

Pandemic burnout is such a huge problem that some companies are experimenting with org-wide week-long vacations.

Some of you want to go freelance.

“The pandemic made me realize that I'd have even more security by freelancing full-time,” one respondent wrote. “If an employer decides to lay me off at a full-time job, my entire livelihood is stripped away.”

Not so with multiple freelance clients — a.k.a. a diversified employer portfolio.

But not EVERY marketer is quitting.

“I like my job and the team I'm building,” one of you said.

“People need to eat,” wrote another reader, who thinks that the emerging employee market will lift salaries for employees who stay and go.

Our takeaway?

More marketers foresee other people quitting than see themselves quitting. But there certainly seems to be a lot of quitting on the horizon.

It’s happening now: A quarter of the survey respondents who wanted to quit their jobs weren’t just planning to quit — they had quit already.

P.S. If you're quitting your job (or not), want to pick up some freelance marketing work? Apply to join MarketerHire — we'll help you land high-paying gigs at companies like Netflix, Allbirds, HelloFresh, and more.

Mae RiceMae Rice
Mae Rice is editor in chief at MarketerHire. A long-time content marketer, she loves learning about the weird and wonderful feedback loops that connect marketing and culture.
Hire Marketers
Explainers

Is Every Marketer About to Quit Their Job?

September 8, 2023
July 9, 2021
Mae Rice

Some say marketing has a "Great Resignation" coming. Is it overhyped? We surveyed our newsletter readers to see how many are actually planning to quit their jobs.

Table of Contents

This is an excerpt from MarketerHire's weekly newsletter, Raisin Bread. To get a tasty marketing snack in your inbox every week, subscribe here.

We’ve been hearing a lot about what one management professor has termed “The Great Resignation.” Surveys suggest 40% of people and 60% of marketers want to switch jobs in 2021.

So, a few weeks ago, we surveyed Raisin Bread readers to see whether or not this is for real.

Here’s what you had to say about the upcoming talent “exodus.”

Your answers, by the numbers...

Does marketing have a wave of resignations coming?

78% 👍  | 22% 👎

Are you personally planning to quit your job?

48% 👍  |  52% 👎

…and your reasoning.

While a slight majority of you don’t plan to quit your jobs, almost all of you see a major upheaval coming to marketing as an industry. Here’s why.

Marketers feel sidelined in their orgs…

“People aren't getting the support and resources they need [and] senior level people aren't listening to lower level employees,” one reader wrote.

...and stuck with monotonous work.

That lack of resources leaves teams without room to experiment or innovate.

That’s especially true in B2B marketing, where “marketers keep following the same short-term tactics and formulas,” one respondent wrote — think quarterly reports, partner webinars and predictable content.

“So many I know are quitting… [because t]hey're bored and nearly robots.”

Many of you want to work from home permanently.

Your employers, not so much. Leaders at Apple, Amazon and beyond want to return to the office full-time (or most-of-the-time) — over objections from their teams.

Some marketers have ethical qualms about what they’re doing.

Some companies, like Ahrefs, follow a code of ethics in their marketing — but others just want to make a buck. That takes a toll on morale.

Burnout is everywhere.  

Pandemic burnout is such a huge problem that some companies are experimenting with org-wide week-long vacations.

Some of you want to go freelance.

“The pandemic made me realize that I'd have even more security by freelancing full-time,” one respondent wrote. “If an employer decides to lay me off at a full-time job, my entire livelihood is stripped away.”

Not so with multiple freelance clients — a.k.a. a diversified employer portfolio.

But not EVERY marketer is quitting.

“I like my job and the team I'm building,” one of you said.

“People need to eat,” wrote another reader, who thinks that the emerging employee market will lift salaries for employees who stay and go.

Our takeaway?

More marketers foresee other people quitting than see themselves quitting. But there certainly seems to be a lot of quitting on the horizon.

It’s happening now: A quarter of the survey respondents who wanted to quit their jobs weren’t just planning to quit — they had quit already.

P.S. If you're quitting your job (or not), want to pick up some freelance marketing work? Apply to join MarketerHire — we'll help you land high-paying gigs at companies like Netflix, Allbirds, HelloFresh, and more.

Mae Rice
about the author

Mae Rice is editor in chief at MarketerHire. A long-time content marketer, she loves learning about the weird and wonderful feedback loops that connect marketing and culture.

Hire a Marketer