A professor and leadership expert speak to HRD on how to avert this problem through leadership
New research suggests more than half of Australian workers regret their career - a finding that shines a light on a much deeper issue with employee engagement, a leading management academic told HRD.
“The stats speak about the complexity of career regret as a concept. It may sound like an alarming number, but the fact is, a lot of people having career regret aren’t necessarily disengaged in their work – it’s a complex psychological experience,” Associate Professor Lena Wang from the School of Management at RMIT University (pictured left), told HRD.
“It’s generally a trigger at work – poor management, toxic workplace culture, missed promotion opportunity. There isn’t necessarily a focus on ‘hating’ your job, but rather wishing you were doing something else as a response to something bad. It can come and go.”
The research, conducted by job site, SEEK, found 52% of Australian workers regret their career choice – largely attributed to not earning enough, changes in interests and passions, and feeling unfulfilled in their role.
Commenting on the research, Ukari Warmann, Director of Human Resources ANZ for SEEK, told HRD the reasons an employee may be rethinking their career are dependent on their circumstances.
“While the reasons may vary, the takeaway for businesses is often the same: fostering a working environment that champions employee growth and development, and prioritises reward and recognition can be vital in employee retention.”
“Being able to identify signs of ‘career regret’ within an employee early on and taking steps to support them can not only have positive effects for the individual, but can also have the potential to unlock organisational productivity and engagement,” Warmann added.
Wang emphasised that the focus on the desires of workers highlights the need for managers and HR leaders to fulfill their workers’ needs and help them feel connected and engaged.
“When people feel heard, and people feel they have a sense of autonomy – they feel they are capable in what they do. Once people's psychological needs are being fulfilled, people are naturally happier to stay put. I think this goes back to the being just being a good manager.”
Wang is not surprised by the statistics but says the reality of the numbers equates to “organisations and managers not being able to effectively manage their peers and workforce. It’s common to ask if the grass is greener somewhere else”.
Wang noted the need to re-shape the expectations of both management and employee to directly combat feelings of disengagement – saying if you can “tap into the skills of the person’s dream,” greater work satisfaction can be achieved.
“Managers should start focusing on people’s motivations, if they are perhaps less engaged, and potentially facilitate the role they’re in to be more in line with that interest. If they wanted to work in sport, perhaps focusing on teamwork and a level of competitiveness will fulfil a lot of those psychological needs.”
The focus, Wang outlined, is managers understanding what motivates people and create an environment where those psychological needs are met – to keep employees engaged and feel understood.
Career regret is also seen in leadership, but in a different way, according to author and leadership performance specialist, Adrian Baillargeon (pictured right).
Speaking with HRD, he outlined the pressures leaders face
“Leaders are responsible for a lot of key decisions within a business. When things go wrong, or a decision is made, it’s leaders that have to deal with the repercussions – and that sometimes can cause regret, especially when leaders are traditionally older than their workers.”
“You need to remember that regret isn’t about restarting, that’s something important to note. You’re not trying to restart your career or every decision you make – it’s about taking time to make change and about making a difference. Sometimes you need these feelings of regret to make sure everything has a purpose,” Baillargeon emphasised.
He noted everyone – in every stage of their career – faces thoughts of ‘what if?’. It’s how you deal with this feeling, emphasised by Wang, that defines how you are managed and how you solve the problem down the line.
