A recent study finds that 71% of white-collar workers who left their jobs during the “Great Resignation” regret their choice—and many aim to reclaim their position.
Key Details
- Recruitment company Robert Walters sampled 3,000 workers and found that a “Great Regret” is occurring, as the majority of employees want to return to their previous jobs, Yahoo Finance reports.
- The survey finds that 45% of workers quit for better pay, and 35% quit for a better workplace culture or a more meaningful job.
- A third of workers say the rising cost of living harms their finances, and 25% would prefer to return to the office instead of staying in hybrid work.
- More than 80% of employees are still in touch with their former employers, hoping that future job opportunities may become available.
Why It’s News
The past three years have seen the world economy change in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns forcing most white-collar jobs into remote positions. Dissatisfied workers—unhappy with the changes or happy with the changes and unwilling to return to the office—began “Quiet Quitting” or resigned en masse last year to seek better jobs with better pay and more convenient accommodations.
With the economy facing further stressors, high inflation, banking crises, and recession fears, a large percentage of the employees who left their jobs wish they had not made that decision, as rising cost-of-living hits their budgets, Yahoo Finance notes.
Many workers are attempting to make the best of poor situations. LinkedIn Research reported in January that it was documenting a new trend called “career committing” after it found 56% of surveyed U.K. employees were responding to negative changes in the economy by making positive changes in their job and recommitting to their work, taking on new projects, doing more networking, building new skillsets, and connecting more with colleagues, Cosmopolitan reports.
Notable Quote
“Across 2021, we saw record pay rises offered to professionals, with promises of an uber-flexible and hybrid culture. Come 2023, these pay rises now pale in comparison to the rising cost of living and inflation—with those new starters who were offered inflated salaries being much less likely to have received a pay increase this year. It appears that workers are realizing that the grass may not have been greener after all,” Robert Walters CEO Toby Fowlston tells Yahoo Finance.
A similar January study from Paychex found that 80% of workers regret leaving their job.
