As the new year begins, a significant number of British workers are preparing to make decisive career moves, with as many as one in ten planning to hand in their notice in January. A nationwide survey suggests that Monday 5 January is the most likely day for employees to tell their employer they are ready to move on.
The findings point to broader dissatisfaction in the workplace, with a quarter of respondents saying their job makes them unhappy and more than four in ten considering a complete career overhaul this year, ranging from retraining and further education to entrepreneurship and sabbaticals.
In fact, the nationwide study, by international schools group ACS has revealed that half (50%) of working Brits feel they were forced down a career path that wasn’t their choice.
In fact, one in four (25%) said they felt pressured to go down a career path by parents, who had set ideas about what they wanted them to do, with 43% insisting they would have chosen a more creative occupation if they had been given the opportunity.
One in five (20%) feel resentful about being shoehorned into a certain career, while a quarter (26%) are frustrated at where they have found themselves. A sixth (15%) just feel depressed about where they have ended up.
As a result, more than half (54%) say they are not currently working in their dream career, with 18% admitting they envy those who seem to love their job.
In fact, 85% of the parents polled, say they will encourage their children to follow their dreams rather than take a job they’re not interested in, with 57% saying they will be much more open about possible career choices compared to their own parents.
Two thirds (66%) go a step further and think that the current UK exam system pushes kids to pick subject choices too early, limiting future study and career options, and 62% of their teenage children think the same.
Martin Hall, Head of School at ACS Hillingdon, said: “The research shows that the nation’s workers feel like they have been short-changed when it comes to their careers, and the next generation fears the current system will send them the same way.
“What’s concerning is that the same system that created these regrets is still in place. Our research shows 66% of parents believe the English exam system forces children to narrow their subject choices too early – at 14 and 16 – often before they understand what opportunities exist.
“Parents experiencing career regret shouldn’t assume the only path is the one they took. They should ask schools: Are you preparing my child to be ready for an unpredictable future, or forcing them to be ‘single subject specialists’? That’s the question that matters.”
According to research from ACS International Schools one in six (17 percent) workers were told that dream careers like being a professional footballer were out of reach, while 14 percent were told it was impossible to be a singer.
