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About 1 in 5 workers who quit their jobs during "Great Resignation" regret it, survey finds

Many workers feeling resignation regret
How workers can navigate resignation regret during COVID pandemic 05:27

Many of us have done things we regret, such as skipping a trip, leaving a relationship or walking away from a good job.

A recent survey found some regret among the 47 million people who quit their jobs during last year's so-called "Great Resignation." About one in five of those people who resigned during the pandemic say they regretted it, according to a recent Harris Poll survey for USA Today.

Many of them say they wanted more pay and responsibility — but then realized their new gig wasn't the dream job they wanted. 

"Those of you who are unhappy with the move, it's probably because you were just moving too fast," LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher said in an interview Monday on "CBS Mornings."

Fisher said there's some regret on both sides as both employees and employers may have moved too quickly.

"What happened is that these companies were really trying to fill vacant roles that had been sitting for a long time, so they shortcut the system," she said.

Fisher said some workers were lured into new jobs by big salaries but didn't take into account the work conditions, work culture, job responsibilities and other "right questions" that typically come up in the hiring process.

"What they should be asking is, 'How do you celebrate wins? How do you celebrate failures? What happens if you fail? Give me an example of a time when the team didn't have enough resources to do a job. How did you manage through that?'" she said. "So being really specific about what's important to you to give you greater insight into the culture."

For those workers who realized their new job is not the right fit, Fisher encouraged them to be honest with their current and prospective employers. 

"It's important to say, 'I took this job, I didn't ask all the right questions that I needed to, and what I've discovered during this three-month job that I had is this is actually what's really important to me," she said. "So if you use that time to be self-reflective and be honest about it, I actually think it makes you a strong candidate."

Fisher also noted that workers still have the upper hand as the U.S. continues to face a labor shortage.

"It really is still a great time to look for a job," she said.

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