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Great Resignation, Great Regret: Was Quitting Your Job a Big Mistake?
Many employees who left for something better during the Great Resignation quickly found that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
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The Great Resignation peaked in 2022 when more than 50 million Americans quit their jobs. You know the story: COVID made people reassess their lives and careers; stimulus checks and lockdown savings made for entrepreneurial possibilities; fully remote positions made living anywhere possible; and corporate hiring sprees made salaries higher.
But where are we now?
Even though unemployment is at historic lows across the wider economy — and the national quit rate is still (slightly) higher than it was pre-COVID — every day seems to bring new headlines about thousands of layoffs in tech, media, finance, and other sectors. Inflation is eating into savings, most employees are now expected to show up at the office, and rising interest rates have made starting a business more difficult.
It’s no wonder that 80% of employees who quit during the Great Resignation have come to regret it, according to a Paychex survey.
What to do if you’ve found yourself in this predicament?
It’s possible to ask whether your old job (or a similar one) is still available. A quarter of employers have welcomed former employees back, Paychex found. This is a good reminder to avoid burning bridges when you leave!
But if you were miserable at your previous company — and didn’t simply (perhaps naively) quit to chase a dream — history could repeat itself. Think back to your motivations for exiting, and decide whether it’s best to put yourself back in a toxic situation … or to move forward elsewhere with new skills you’ve learned and new connections you’ve made.
Either way, you can take comfort that one consequence of the Great Resignation seems to have staying power: Companies are trying harder to be awesome places to work. Among Gartner’s 2023 workplace predictions are expanded perks, shorter workweeks, hybrid flexibility, and helping employees “maintain their emotional resilience” rather than offering them post-burnout Band-Aids.
Anthony Klotz, the management professor who coined the term “Great Resignation” in the first place, agrees that its most lasting impact could be healthier workplaces. As he told CNBC, “We can’t discount the fact that millions of jobs are better now than they were three years ago.”