The Great Resignation, also known as the Big Quit,[2] is an economic trend in which employees voluntarily resign from their jobs en masse, beginning in early 2021, primarily in the United States. It has been said the trend is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American government refusing to provide necessary worker protections, and wage stagnation despite a rising cost of living. Some economists have described the Great Resignation as a kind of general strike while discussing Striketober, a wave of strikes in October 2021.