Job hopping is out, job hugging is in for fearful workers

They don't seem happy, they don't give 100%—and they don't quit.

- Callum Borchers

Cranky workers are clinging to the jobs they have instead of moving on because, well, what's the alternative in the current economy?

The extra pay that typically comes with joining another company has practically vanished. Disengagement is so widespread across the U.S. and global workforces that cheerier pastures are hard to find.

And resigning without a plan feels more reckless now than in the good old days (2021). Back then, you could get by on pandemic savings and stimulus money, live the #vanlife for a while, then watch your inbox fill with interview requests from businesses on hiring sprees.

How times have changed in just a few short years. Today, employees are unwilling to risk change and simply go through the motions. The number of Americans quitting their jobs, and the openings available to people looking for work, continue to decline, according to federal data released on Wednesday. The trend of staying put out of fear is known as "job hugging," a sharp turn from the job hopping of recent years.

This is a new headache for employees, bosses and the economy writ large.

Go-getters hankering for promotions may lose out if mediocre co-workers refuse to vacate the next rung on the corporate ladder.

"When people were moving during the Great Resignation, that allowed others to get promoted, perhaps ahead of schedule and have a stretch job," says Alan Guarino, vice chairman of consulting firm Korn Ferry. "Now people can't move up and they potentially get demotivated because of the lack of opportunity."