Resume Now’s 2025 survey of 1,000 workers across four countries found that
58% named “staying in a bad job too long” as their biggest career regret —
outranking not asking for a promotion, not speaking up, and not pursuing
further education. Only 38% said quitting was their top regret. Bankrate’s
2025 Jobs & Pay Report independently corroborates: 56% of workers planned to
look for a new job in the next 12 months, citing stagnation and feeling
trapped. The convergence from two independent sources strengthens the
inaction-regret signal.
On the action side, Joblist surveyed over 15,000 US job seekers and found
that 26% of those who quit their previous job regretted the decision. The
most common reason was that finding new work proved harder than expected (49%
of regretful quitters). This is substantially lower than the widely cited
Paychex figure of 80%, which specifically targeted Great Resignation quitters
surveyed in October 2022 — a historically anomalous cohort driven by pandemic
restlessness and social contagion. The Joblist sample, drawn from a broader
population over a longer window, better represents normal-conditions quitting
regret.
The revised framing resolves the earlier contradiction. Under normal labor
conditions, quitting regret runs around 25-30% (Joblist), not 80% (Paychex).
The 80% was an artifact of a specific, unusual period where many people quit
impulsively into a market that cooled faster than expected. Over time, per
Gilovich’s temporal pattern, quitting regret fades (the new job improves, or
you quit again) while staying regret compounds (another year passes, the
resume stagnates). The steady-state pattern is inaction-dominates, consistent
with the broader career-regret literature.
Sources: action
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]Joblist — Q2 2022 United States Job Market Report
Primary study
26% of people who quit their previous job regret their decision
Excerpt
“"Over one in four people who quit their previous job (26%) regret their decision. The most common reason for regret is that it was harder to find a new job than expected (49%). 13% report that they regret quitting because the economy worsened after they quit."
”
Source data from
2022-07-15
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Joblist surveyed 15,158 US job seekers; of those, 628 had quit their previous job. The 26% regret rate is measured among actual quitters (n=628). This is an independent source from Paychex and covers a broader time window than the Great Resignation-specific Paychex sample. The lower rate (26% vs Paychex's 80%) likely reflects a less sensational survey framing and a broader population beyond pandemic-era impulse quits.
[2]Paychex — Employee Regret After the Great Resignation
Primary study
80% of professionals who quit during the Great Resignation regret their decision
Excerpt
“"Eight in 10 professionals who left their jobs regret their decision. Professionals swapping industries are 25% more likely than those who stayed within their industry to feel this way. Those who left during the Great Resignation are only 11% more likely to be satisfied with their new salaries than their previous earnings."
”
Source data from
2022-12-15
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Paychex surveyed 825 employees and 354 employers in October 2022. The 80% figure specifically targets Great Resignation quitters — a historically anomalous cohort. We use the Joblist 26% as the headline rate because it is less period-specific and comes from a larger sample. The Paychex 80% represents the upper bound under unusual market conditions.
Sources: inaction
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
[1]Resume Now — The Road Not Taken: Greatest Career Regrets Revealed↗ 7 other entries
Primary study
58% of workers say staying in a bad job too long is their biggest career regret
Excerpt
“"58% of people say their biggest career regret is staying in a bad job too long — compared with just 38% who say they regret quitting a job. Workers regret 'job hugging' more than not speaking up in meetings, not asking for a promotion, or not getting a college degree."
”
Source data from
2025-01-15
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Resume Now polled 1,000 workers across the US, UK, France, and Germany in January 2025. The 58% is the share naming "staying too long" as their single biggest career regret from a list of options. This is a "biggest regret" ranking, not a binary stayed/didn't-stay question, so it captures intensity rather than simple prevalence.
[2]Bankrate — Bankrate's 2025 Jobs & Pay Report
Reference source
56% of workers planned to look for a new job in the next 12 months, citing stagnation and undercompensation
Excerpt
“"56% of workers plan to look for a job in the next 12 months. Among those staying put, top reasons include fear of the unknown, financial obligations, and lack of confidence — classic inaction maintenance factors."
”
Source data from
2025-08-01
Accessed
2026-04-26
Calculation
Bankrate's nationally representative survey (KnowledgePanel, probability-based). The 56% intent-to-leave figure corroborates the Resume Now finding that staying is the more regretted state. Intent to leave is not identical to regret about staying, but it captures active dissatisfaction with the status quo. This replaces the Fortune article that merely re-reported the Resume Now data.
Caveats
The action and inaction figures now come from independent sources (Joblist vs Resume Now) but answer different questions: Joblist asks quitters whether they regret quitting (binary, specific), while Resume Now asks all workers what their biggest career regret is (ranking from a list, general). The 26% action-regret rate from Joblist is far lower than the Paychex 80%, reflecting the difference between a period-specific Great Resignation sample and a broader population. The 58% inaction figure is the share naming staying as their top regret among several options — not a yes/no question about their current job. Both figures inform the direction (inaction regret exceeds action regret in the long run) but the precise delta of 0.32 compares non-identical instruments. The Paychex finding remains relevant as evidence that quitting regret can spike dramatically under specific market conditions, even if it fades over time per Gilovich's temporal pattern.
