More than half of all millennial and Gen X workers regret their career choices and would pursue a different path in life if they could have their time over again, fresh research from a leading employment company suggests.
ASX-listed SEEK surveyed 3033 working-age Australians to uncover the startling workplace revelation, with money problems listed as the most common reason for remorse.
Some 54 per cent of millennials, 57 per cent of Gen X workers, 52 per cent of Baby Boomers and 40 per cent of Gen Z workers reported career regret.
From that cohort, 47 per cent flagged the phrase “I don’t earn enough” as the key reason for dissatisfaction, while 30 per cent listed “my interests and passions have changed”, 28 per cent listed “it’s unfulfilling” for 28 per cent and 26 per cent stressed “poor work and life balance”.
There are also multiple factors stopping workers from making a career shift, the research suggests, with financial concerns and the feeling it’s “too late” to switch careers being the top reasons keeping workers in place.
The findings, released in the company’s Evolving Working Life report, also show one in three workers believe they will work well into their 70s and even beyond.
“It is understandable that with many of us living and working longer than ever before, many Australians may be rethinking their current career,” SEEK head of market data Leigh Broderick said.
“What we found particularly interesting in the Evolving Working Life report was the mismatch between so many workers believing that they would be working into their 70s, yet many believing it was too late to make a change, even the younger generations.
“Having second thoughts about your career choice is a very common experience.”
Only 7 per cent of workers are actively moving to a new career, the report suggests.
Despite pervasive career regret, the research suggests nearly half of all workers feel optimistic about their future careers and their job security.
Over half of working Australians, or 56 per cent, believing their current role will exist in 10 years, the report states, and just 10 per cent said they felt concerned their skills and experience would be made redundant with technology
advancements.
Burn out, slow or zero salary growth and poor work and life balance are the top concerns around the future of work for workers.
“We are more agile than we may give ourselves credit for, with half of Australian workers having already worked in at least three different industries,” Ms Broderick said.
But a quarter of us still confess to feeling uncomfortable with making a change in our career.
Whether it’s a drastic change in industry or even simpler switch-ups in how you work in your current role – if you’re going to be working for longer, it’s even more important to keep an open mind about evolving your career journey throughout your life to make sure it’s right for you.”
