I Finally Feel The Great Resignation At Work

We've had people come and go semi-frequently since I got to the company, but mostly it was in my Main Department.  Don't know why so many come through there.  I hear some people were "asked" to leave due to poor performance, but lately the ones who left seemed to have just breezed through without so much as a peep as to why.  That includes one whose last day was Wednesday.  He couldn't have been at the job more than six months.

The other departments I've been in seem to be more stable.  There are a lot of lifers there, moreso than in the Main Department.  That is until I got to work yesterday/Thursday.  I saw through an e-mail my boss sent out that the guy who is The Fourth Department -- and who essentially acts as a one-man department -- is leaving in a few weeks to take a job out of state.  This comes out of the blue.  I think he's been at the company at least 20 years, bouncing around several jobs before he got to the Fourth Department, in which he has been at for many, many years.

So why did he leave, and for a job out of Minnesota?  I don't think he's a native Minnesotan, and he may be going back to his hometown.  But is it because, or also because, of the money?  I have heard of The Great Resignation -- both the outflow of people telling their bosses to take this job and shove it, and of people ditching their old jobs, maybe even after years of service, for something higher-paying.  I don't know if I'll ask him before he goes, but if the money's so, so much better than what he's making now, well, I guess I don't blame him for leaving and skipping town.  I'll miss him, though.  We talk about sports a lot, and he was always an amiable guy.  Well, except for that one time I asked if needed a ride.  Damn, he's militant about taking the bus.

Anyways, he takes with him a lot of institutional knowledge.  Plus, he really is the only guy who truly knows how that department works.  Of course I and a couple other people are going to have to step in on an interim basis, but even at our best, we won't be able to do what he does with such ease.  On top of that, with us needing to fill in at this department for the short (and possibly intermediate) term, I will be unable to take on any possible nighttime online testing jobs.  And even though those haven't come in yet this year, I won't be able to take any that could come up, and that irks me.  There is another person who is supposed to be in the position I'm in right now.  Even if that's filled tomorrow, the training process will take at least several months before that person could be deputized to do this job.  Blerg.

Finally, one other thing: If this guy left because of more money, and the people who left the Main Department also left for higher-paying jobs ... shouldn't I be looking for a higher-paying job, too?