Over the past 6 months, as the pandemic-induced lockdowns have lifted in those countries lucky enough to be able to offer their citizens double vaccinations, something unexpected has been happening, an effect that is particularly concentrated in the UK. What is it you ask? Record levels of job vacancies. Yes – it is thought that over 1 million job vacancies were still unfilled by the end of September 2021, according to recent claims.

Why are there so many vacancies, you ask? Well, the answer to that is at least twofold. The biggest of them is the pandemic itself. Over the course of the past 18 months, so many people have lost their jobs, been furloughed, or have found themselves in health situations that mean that they can no longer work in positions they once previously held. What’s more, many people have realized that the traditional 9-5 work structure is not sustainable for them, that they much prefer working from home than they do a regular commute to a drab cubicle at an office or have found ways to earn a living that does not fit within the traditional societal expectations. Overall, the pause that many lockdowns placed on our lives has allowed us to think and re-evaluate what matters most to us, especially at a time when many have lost their nearest and dearest. With it, it seems, has come to the realization that there is more to life than work, at a point in which employers are more desperate to hold on to staff than ever.

Not only are employers desperate to hold on to staff as many leave for greener pastures in an opportune job market, but also as a result of Brexit. With Brexit taking full effect, many workers, including many in essential roles, have returned to their home countries in mainland Europe. As a result, supply chains across the country in multiple industries are floundering, and employers are resorting to more and more desperate advertising pleas. This website offers several different advertisements for many valuable services – and many workplaces are equally advertising their roles with as much hope as the advertisers here. While many of the remaining UK workforces have faced the same problems and questions surrounding work that the pandemic has already highlighted. As a result, the problem of unrecruited vacancies has only increased, with no clear overarching plan or guidance from any sector as to how the issue is to be remedied without being at high risk for causing more problems, such as an increase in COVID-19 cases and another lockdown resulting from it.

Although these are only two reasons for the large number of job vacancies currently being advertised in the UK market, issues resulting from both the pandemic and Brexit are at the heart of the crisis, both fundamental in the ways in which they have changed working, and the general population’s attitude to where they work and what they do, that they are worth dedicating an article to. as Autumn turns to winter, we can only hope and strive towards improvement in the next few months.