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Corporate CEOs are quitting their jobs in high numbers, too, according to The Washington Times (subscription).

What’s going on: “The executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that the number of chief executive officers who left their jobs in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 16% higher than a year earlier. A total of 106 CEOs left their jobs in December and 142 in October in 2021, the second-highest year on record.”

Why: The trend seems to be dominated by older professionals who are well-off financially and tired of COVID-19-related workplace pressures, University of New Haven professor Maurice Cayer told The Times.

• “They are making a lot of bucks, and many are baby boomers choosing to cash in,” Cayer said. “Some retire and get off the racetrack, but many start up their own businesses or join venture capital firms, where there’s less pressure and great opportunities to continue growing their wealth and status.”

JOLTS: A record 4.5 million American workers quit their jobs in November 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

Also at a record high: The number of startups seeking executives jumped to new heights in 2021, too. Entrepreneurs filed 5.4 million new business applications last year, surpassing 2020’s record of 4.4 million.

• As the number of departing CEOs rose in 2021, so did job openings for C-suite executives, according to jobs website ZipRecruiter.

What’s behind it: “A Gallup survey in November showed an increase in the number of managers who reported feeling burned out ‘very often’ or ‘always.’ The managers included chief executive officers.… ‘Lots of people are rethinking things in the wake of the pandemic,’ said [Christine] McDaniel, a former U.S. Treasury official.”