Great resignation vs. great regret: Many B.C. workers wishing they hadn’t quit

Workplaces across B.C. have seen staggering numbers of employees leaving over the last couple of years, but it seems many people are now wishing they hadn’t quit.

Currently, many businesses across the province are struggling to find employees, a symptom left over from what’s been described as “the great resignation.”

But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Now, it seems that “great resignation” has turned into “great regret” for many.

“We’ve heard that people are quitting their job in droves and yes, that’s absolutely been true. But what’s really interesting 12 months after seeing lots and lots of people quitting their job is the data is starting to show most people are regretting it,” explained Inspired HR’s Debby Carreau. “In fact, 72 per cent of people are either saying they regret the decision or the new job was nothing like what they thought it was going to be.”

She says anyone considering quitting their job should conduct extensive research to find out if their new workplace is as good as it promises to be.

And as many businesses face staggering employee shortages, Carreau suggests maintaining a relationship calling it quits.

“I encourage employers, with your good employees, to let them go out and explore and just say, ‘Listen, I understand that you’ve been offered this great opportunity and I don’t blame you for wanting to try it, but I tell you what, we really want you here as well. So what I’m going to do is I’m going to give you a six-month, a three-month, a 12-month leave of absence. We’re going to keep the door open for you,'” she told CityNews.

Carl McCreath, president of Steamworks Restaurant Operations, knows the struggle of staffing shortages.

“It’s challenging. It’s right back to where it was I’d say a year ago when things were really tough,” he explained. “You put out ads and you don’t get people walking through the door so you just got to manage it and keep pushing through.”

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He admits it’s been next to impossible to keep his restaurant completely open, noting the staffing situation is dire. Like many others in his industry, he’s pleading with customers to be patient.

“If they come in and see a restaurant that’s half full and they tell you they are at capacity it’s probably because they don’t have enough staff and they’re doing what they can. Nobody wants to not take care of a customer, obviously, it’s just the circumstances,” said McCreath.

Shauna Moran, founder of Operate Remote, a business that helps people manage remote or hybrid teams, says there are an overwhelming number of jobs to choose from right now because working from home has allowed people to apply to positions nowhere near their current city.

That’s why many places requiring in-person engagement may be experiencing such drastic turnover.

“It poses a real challenge for organizations that are trying to get people back into the office, trying to get people back into a hybrid environment. Is that necessarily what people want? And I think as candidates, as individuals, as human beings, we’ve really had a chance to reflect on how our definition of success has changed over the last two years, and what do we actually value within our lives and within our work and the impact we want to make?”

According to the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, there’s a need to hire up to 40,000 more staffers in the industry across the province right now.