Regrets
Frank Sinatra croons in his song “My Way”: Regrets, I've had a few, But then again too few to mention I did what I had to do, I saw it through without exemption, I planned each charted course... Most of us wish we could sing this song but planning and seeing things through without exemption are regrets many have had.
The workplace employment changes demonstrate this. According to a study by Mckinsey, “People are switching jobs and industries, moving from traditional to nontraditional roles, retiring early, or starting their own businesses. They are taking a time-out to tend to their personal lives or embarking on sabbaticals. They indicate three types of job changers: Reshuffling, Reinventing and Reassessing.”
However, the recent Great Resignation is turning into the Great Regret for 1 in 5 employees, which Forbes said is the Great Reality Check, and they are now regretting it.
People’s attitudes towards work and what they expect from their jobs has changed irrevocably. They’ve become accustomed to a new ‘normal’ where quality of life takes precedence. Except it still isn’t the new normal!
The pandemic has left a positive legacy where flexible working has gained widespread acceptance. There’s a new openness around mental health and a new recognition of employee worth all of which bodes well for the future. However, arguably, the pandemic has also led to unrealistic expectations that there’s always something better—a more fulfilling role, a higher salary, greater flexibility—which has left employees and jobseekers perplexed.
Employees think work should fit around the new lives and new routines they’ve carved out for themselves, but with such high expectations, it is no wonder the reality doesn’t measure up.
A big part of it is Workplace Wellness which employers are emphasizing more and more, but still 46% of the workplace purports burnout and 52% high stress so this is an issue that is not going away. It is a major reason I got my certification in Workplace Wellness. But regrets have been around for a long time given to us by many interviews of people in their eighties:
"I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."
"I wish I hadn't worked so hard and spent more time with friends and family."
"I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings."
"I wish that I had let myself be happier."
These are some of the sign posts that the pandemic has exacerbated.