Businessman with facepalm gesture pop art style vector illustration. Human illustration. Comic book style imitation. Vintage retro style. Credit: Oleksandr Pokusai/Adobe Stock
When Frank Sinatra sang, “regrets, I’ve had a few,” he was not alone. Two-thirds of employees in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany have work-related regrets, Resume Now’s International Career Regrets survey found.
“It turns out that career regrets are very common among workers and that more than a few are haunted by the ‘what-ifs,’ ‘if-onlys’ and ‘could-have-beens’ of our professional journeys,” the survey report said. “As we navigate careers in 2025, many are looking for ways to proactively avoid future regrets by making bold, intentional choices today.”
Recommended For You
Among the key findings:
- Top career regrets include not asking for a pay increase (6%), not prioritizing work-life balance (59%), staying at a job too long (58%) and not negotiating salary when taking a job (58%).
- More people regret staying at a job (58%) than quitting (38%).
- Two-thirds of Gen Z and millennial workers regret not prioritizing work-life balance.
- Forty-five percent of participants would like to find a new job in 2025.
- Career regrets peak at mid-career, with millennials (70%) and Gen X (69%) experiencing the most regrets overall.
- More than half of workers never have regretted being a remote worker.
- Half of people regret being in their chosen career.
- Fifty-five percent said they made resolutions regarding their professional life for 2025.
- Learning additional skills was by far the top resolution (54%).
“The findings highlight a significant shift in workplace dynamics, with younger generations increasingly vocal about their career expectations and willing to make changes to avoid future regrets,” the report said. As a result, more than half plan to take such actions as:
- Learning additional skills (54%)
- Finding a new job (45%)
- Pursuing professional development (26%)
- Growing professional network (25%)
- Getting a new professional certification (23%)
- Asking for a raise (21%)
- Making a career change (19%)
- Finding a remote job (18%)
- Getting a second job (16%)
- Attending at least one professional networking event (16%)
“The changing world of work offers more tools than ever to address past regrets and make bold new choices,” she wrote. “Regret may be inevitable, but dwelling on it serves no purpose, Use regret as the spark to rewrite your story. Dream big, take bold steps and create a future that aligns with your aspirations. This new year is the perfect time to start.”
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
