Career regrets? Most workers have a few, survey shows

The poll of 2,000 employees found that nearly 8 in 10 (79%) are harbouring regrets about a career choice or a decision they’ve made at work. 

People mid-way into their career, aged 35-44 years old, are the most likely to report having work-related regrets (87%). This compares to 82% of workers under 35 and 75% of those aged over 45.

Only 21% of those surveyed didn’t have any regrets. 

The top career regret, for one in six (17%) employees, involves dwelling on or worrying about a work situation or conversation that they can’t change. 

Younger workers are more likely to have regrets over doing this. Nearly one in four (24%) 18-24 year olds say they regret worrying or stressing about unchangeable events or conversations, compared to one in five (21%) 25-44 year olds and one in seven (14%) workers over 45.

The next two most commonly cited regrets are staying in a job for too long (16%) and working too many hours (16%). 

Senior and middle managers are the most likely to regret not prioritising their work-life balance more by working too many hours (20%, compared to 12% of non-managers). This is backed by previous Ciphr research, which estimates that 64% of managers regularly work extra hours unpaid every week. 

People’s other notable regrets include ‘playing it safe’ with their career (15%) and not saving enough money into their pension, or not starting to save into their pension sooner (14%). 

Women in their late forties and early fifties are almost twice as likely as men the same age to express regret, or disappointment, about their pension savings. One in five (20%) women aged 45-54 years old, compared to one in nine (11%) men aged 45-54 years old, expressed regret over the amount they’ve saved towards their retirement. Illustrating again how the impact of the UK’s persistent gender pay gap, and the ‘motherhood penalty’, can impact women’s earnings in the long-term.

The survey also revealed that a significant one in six (15%) surveyed women regret putting up with a bad manager for too long. A situation that will undoubtably have negatively impacted their wellbeing and happiness. This compares to 9% of surveyed men, or 13% of all UK employees.

Other sources of career regret include not working in a more lucrative or higher-paying industry (12%), not working in the career that they really wanted to (11%), not quitting a job they didn’t like (11%), and not changing their career sooner (10%).

Claire Hawes, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, says: “As these findings show the outcomes most people look back on with regret are the things they didn’t do – the career path not taken, the job opportunities missed, or the work problem not dealt with sooner. 

“Very few people don’t have something in their past they’d do differently, perhaps, given the chance. The important thing is that we take time to reflect and learn from our work experiences. The good and the bad. Regret might not always seem particularly helpful or productive at times, but it can be a big motivator to help us avoid repeating certain situations, to build self-awareness, and make better decisions that work for us going forward.”

One of the most common career regrets that people have is stressing over something that happened at work. Being stuck in these thought loops – overanalysing conversations or replaying different scenarios – can be a drain on people’s mental capacity, especially if it’s filling their downtime. The first step to breaking this cycle is acknowledging that something is playing on your mind.

Hawes says: “Overthinking at work can lead to a vicious circle of negativity and self-doubt, where negative thoughts can impact your mood and behaviours, increase your stress levels, and have you second-guessing decisions. Learning how to shift your focus and interrupt these loops, in a way that works for you, can have a huge positive impact on your mental wellbeing and job satisfaction. 

“When you do catch yourself overthinking, trust your instincts and don’t pretend it’s not happening. Be curious, and think about why it’s really bothering you – and, importantly, if what you’re thinking is really true. It usually helps to put your thoughts or worries into words – and stick to the facts as much as possible. Writing them down – or voicing them to a friend, trusted work colleague or your manager – can give you a different, broader perspective. It can help you get to the root cause of the discomfort and help you decide whether there’s an issue that should be addressed, or if it’s something that you can try and let go of.

“One of the biggest benefits of having regular check-ins (scheduled or ad-hoc) with your manager is that it helps to normalise constructive self-reflection and performance conversations. It’s important to use this time to reflect objectively and get feedback: on your successes, your challenges, on the situations you think you could have handled differently or better, or the things that may be bothering you. 

“Done well, 1:1s help build trust, align priorities, boost job engagement and reinforce a sense of purpose and focus. Helping you to take more control of your career growth and development.”

Personalised employee development was recently ranked as one of the top 10 benefits people value most. Using an integrated HR and learning system like Ciphr can streamline the performance management process and enable better development conversations. Logging performance reviews and recurring 1-to-1 discussions centrally enables employees and their managers to consistently, and fairly, track progress against organisational objectives over time, to help inform goal setting, improve productivity and identify specific training and upskilling needs. 

Employees can access and complete customised learning plans and compliance training via the LMS, and employers have a consolidated, real-time view of their skills development and performance data.

While 1:1s are not always standard practice in all types of organisations, employees should be encouraged to check in with their manager or supervisor when they need to, advises Hawes.

She adds: “If you don’t have regular 1:1s (or similar) with your manager, or your scheduled meetings are often shortened or skipped, then you’re likely to be missing out on valuable feedback and support. Minor issues or roadblocks could escalate, you may feel overlooked or lacking recognition, and be struggling with unclear expectations.

“Raising your concerns early – ideally before resentment really starts to build – gives your manager an opportunity to make improvements and prioritise meaningful support. Bad management, through lack of training, capability or capacity, can make your job really unenjoyable and seriously impact your mental health. If you continue to feel unsupported, and you’ve already talked to a senior manager or HR and nothing’s changed, it might be time to move employer.”

Ciphr's new HR AI assistant provides immediate and clear visibility into an HR system’s data. So HR teams and leadership can get quick intel about who hasn’t completed their 1:1 meetings that month, or their performance reviews that quarter (or year), for example, without needing to build reports. Making it easier for organisations to spot gaps in manager support and take action. 

The full results of Ciphr’s research into people’s biggest career regrets is available at https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/workers-share-their-biggest-career-regrets.

Ciphr is the go-to HR, payroll and benefits software partner for UK organisations with 200 to 2,000 employees. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to help inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business. 

For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com. 

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Media enquiries:

Emma-Louise Jones, digital PR manager at Ciphr
e:  ejones@ciphr.com  

Chris Boddice, chief marketing officer at Ciphr
e: cboddice@ciphr.com
Website: www.ciphr.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ciphr 

Notes:

Ciphr commissioned a survey (via OnePoll) of 2,000 UK employees in February 2026. Questions included: Thinking about your career / working life, what, if anything, are your biggest work-related regrets? Respondents could select up to five answer options, including ‘n/a – I don’t have any work-related regrets’.

The results are available at: https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/workers-share-their-biggest-career-regrets 


About Ciphr

Ciphr is the go-to HR, payroll and benefits software partner for UK organisations with 200 to 2,000 employees. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to help inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business. 

The Ciphr Group is a privately held company backed by ECI Partners and headquartered in Reading. Over 230 employees work across the group, which includes Ciphr and Avantus (FlexGenius), as well as its previous acquisition Marshall E-Learning (now known as Ciphr eLearning). 

Ciphr spokespeople are available to provide expert media comment on a broad range of topics, including HR strategy, people management, employee experience and wellbeing, AI in HR, payroll, benefits and rewards, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), learning and development, the future of work, tech trends, business and leadership, marketing, and more.