Pandemic sparks labor reckoning for some: 'It's not just about the job anymore'

The pandemic has changed how some Americans view work.

After the coronavirus pandemic forced much of the country to close down, pushed unemployment to levels not seen since the Great Depression, and left more than 593,000 Americans dead, some say the once-in-a-lifetime shock has forever altered their views towards work. "I'm a spiritual person, so I feel like this was just the creator's reset button for us all, and that we're not supposed to come out of it the same," Tia Ferguson, 41, a mom of three from Columbus, Ohio, told ABC News. "It's not just about the job anymore, it's about the truest sense of vocation." After living through more than a year of calamity -- marked by seemingly endless news of sickness, death and economic anguish that further divided the haves from the have-nots -- many appear to be changing their mindsets about work and life. For some, this means changing jobs or even careers. For others, it means not accepting toxic work environments or other conditions they had to endure prior to the pandemic. In many cases, the dramatically expanded unemployment benefits afforded the jobless, including self-employed people and others not previously eligible for benefits, the time and space to make these realizations and pursue changes.