By now everyone is familiar with the Great Resignation. Since the pandemic, the number of Americans quitting their jobs has soared, averaging in excess of four million workers per month for the last year.¹

Now, it appears many Americans are regretting their decision to quit their jobs. According one survey, about 20% of workers who quit their jobs in the past two years came to regret it, which is why the Great Resignation may be turning into the Great Regret.²

In another survey of recent job changers, more than 25% of them are reconsidering whether they made the right move, with 42% saying that the new job hasn’t lived up to their expectations.³

Perhaps, this shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise. It’s a reminder of the wisdom that “the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

A survey by Joblist, an employment site, cited the top reasons for this “great regret,” including:⁴

• The job market has proved more difficult than anticipated at the time of quitting their job
• Miss the people at their old company
• New job is not what they hoped for
• Old job was better than they realized
• Bad culture and management at the new company

Eight Ways to Address Your Job Change Regret

If you’re questioning your decision to quit your job, here are some ideas to address your feelings of regret.

1. Become a contract employee or freelancer.
2. Understand the reasons why you feel regret and see if you can take positive steps to address them.
3. Don’t act too quickly. “Jumping from the frying pan into the fire” comes to mind. Give the new job some time since anything new requires an adjustment period.
4. Determine if your regret is really more about non-work related issues, like marital or caregiver stresses.
5. Talk to your new manager about your concerns. He or she may be able to address them in a way that eliminates or mitigates the source of dissatisfaction.
6. If you miss your prior job, talk with contacts at your previous employer to take a measure of whether the opportunity to return exists.
7. Resign, but only after finding a new job.
8. Take time to reassess yourself so you don’t make the same mistake. Is the regret an indication of larger issues, like being in the wrong profession, not doing enough research on prospective employers or even self-destructive behavior?

Sources:

1. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/job-quits#:~:text=Job%20Quits%20in%20the%20United%20States%20averaged%202751.83%20Thousand%20from,the%20United%20States%20Job%20Quits.
2. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/03/28/great-resignation-regret-workers-quit-jobs-not-content/7163041001/?gnt-cfr=1
3. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/millions-of-americans-regret-quitting-in-the-great-resignation
4. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/millions-of-americans-regret-quitting-in-the-great-resignation

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