Joblist's latest report states that 25% of those who quit their jobs throughout the pandemic now regret it—but the onus is on managers to bring back those employees and ensure that they stay.
The main reason for what Joblist is calling "quitter's remorse" is that many quit without other options on the table. And while job reports are strong, those looking for roles don't feel that this market suits their needs. On top of this lack of other job options, employees also report missing their coworkers. Some also say that their old job wasn't as bad as they thought. Another 42% of respondents state that they're disappointed by their new roles and that they’re not living up to expectations.
Another report from UKG from April 2022 found that two out of five employees polled said they preferred their old job over their current one. The reasons they cite are similar to the Joblist poll, such as missing their coworkers and job dissatisfaction. This survey also found that managers were in the dark about why employees quit, and many didn't understand their choice to leave at all.
Some employers are taking this opportunity to re-recruit old employees and bring them back into their old roles. These "boomerang employee" experiences are becoming more common; in the Joblist survey, 41% of respondents said they would consider returning to their old companies. Additionally, one in five employees from the UKG survey had already returned to their old roles. However, this leaves employees in an unfortunate scenario, as managers are still clueless about why this cycle is occurring. UKG Chief Executive Officer Aron Ain emphasizes that managers need to communicate with employees who are returning to their old roles. He notes that managers are the "single most important factor" to employee retention.
"Go to pursue people who were super fantastic when they worked for you," Ain tells Fortune Magazine. "They chose to do something else because they're allowed to, you now have a position that they would be great in, and they'd help advance your organization."
