se factors: Retirement: we’ve known for some time that this decade in Australia was going to see the last of the Baby Boomers and first of Gen X retiring, taking large tranches of experienced workers, with proven resilience, out of the workforce.Resilience: we knew that resilience was at its lowest ever recorded in 2018, and since the pandemic, 85 per cent of people have said that their wellbeing and resilience have got worse. Here in Australia, burn-out is the worst in the world. This did not happen overnight.Work anywhere: regional capitals have been re-inventing themselves as destinations for mid-career professionals very successfully over the past decade. Covid may have forced remote work into the mainstream, but the pattern was already established, and invested in.Work anytime: flexible work has been on the HR agenda for almost six years. Again, Covid was merely an accelerant to the existing trend. This is why the battle to get people to return to the office is going to be so hard-fought and so highly questioned. Resignation: there’s no escaping that there has been a bump in resignations in the first half of this calendar year. We all know it’s there. But it’s always there at this time of year, and it’ll happen again after bonuses are paid. The difference with this year is that we are making up for almost two years of market stagnation – and it’s already easing back to normal. We’ve been ignoring these trends, and many of us would like to continue doing so – blaming Covid is far more comfortable than accepting responsibility for ignoring the signs. The way to tackle ‘the great resignation’ is with great conversation. And  – spoiler alert – great conversations make you a great leader, greatly improve engagement and motivation, and get great results. So resignation or not, they’re a practice worth putting in place.  How to have great conversations Don’t make any assumptions. The world has changed and expectations have changed, too. Without a discussion, you won’t pick up on the differences and you’ll make poor, out-of-date decisions that will affect your performance. PwC research recently highlighted a fast-growing gap between what workers want and what their executives think they want. Leaders used to be pretty accurate and now we’re not. Start asking lots of questions, such as: Do your people value what they used to, and if not, what do they value now? Has culture got worse, or has our tolerance worsened, exposing not-so-great cultures? Be prepared to listen to the answers. Your conversations can centre on all the trends above and you definitely can use Covid as your excuse for having them. Ask how things have changed for your people since Covid. Has it changed their long-term life plan? Employment Hero research shows that 60 per cent of people no longer feel their career is as important to them as it used to be. What does that mean for your employees? Do they feel like travelling, going part time, retiring early?Has it changed their energy levels and sense of resilience? Just talking about resilience builds resilience – so don’t feel you need the answers to ask the question.Has it made them rethink where and when they want to live and work?Do they think we, their employer, can help solve these issues? Do they think you, their manager, can help?  If you can’t have these great conversations yourself (hint: you should), then make sure your mid-level leaders can. At BoldHR, we call them the B-Suite, and you’re going to need to empower and enable them to operate like the C-Suite when it comes to having these conversations openly and without risk and sharing the results back to you.