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Workers are now “holding” or clinging – they’re doing their job right now.
However, according to career experts and labor economists, there are both right and wrong ways to “hold” your work.
“I don’t think hugging a job is a move,” said career coach Mandy Woodruff Santos.
Why do people hug their jobs?
The “QUITS” rate, which measures the pace of voluntary separation from employment, has been sitting at 2% in recent months, at its lowest level since 2016.
According to the latest quarterly survey of new hires from Ziprecruiter, roughly 52% of new hires have changed jobs only once in the past two years. That share is up from 43% in the second quarter. The site examines workers in the second month of each quarter.
Experts say that finding jobs is becoming more difficult, so some of those “cuddle” behaviours are likely not essential.
Job growth has been significantly weaker, and the pace of recruitment has slowed since 2013 to its lowest level except early in the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I think a lot of workers are aware of the uncertainty in the market right now,” said Nicole Bachaud, labor economist at Ziprecruiter.
But that’s not one-sided. Employers are also clinging to workers.
Workers were difficult to spot during the so-called massive resignation in 2021 and 2022 during the period where there was a historically high proportion of employment hopping.
“As a result, many companies remained on staff, not wanting to catch short workers,” wrote Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, in a market commentary on September 10. “And of course, the impact of tariffs and uncertainty about economic growth have made many companies hesitate to expand their current workforce.”
Workers may fear that more cuts will be on the horizon in the cooling job market. Also, Bachaud said it may feel safer in a familiar role rather than as a new recruit in an external organization.
If the Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates this week, the job market could be more kind to job seekers and could encourage many employers to expand their employment activities, Bachaud said.
The exact and wrong way to “job hug”
But choosing to stay at work is risky, especially for sedentary workers who don’t want opportunities for growth, Bachaud said.
“Passistance can put your job at risk,” she said.
Alan Guarino, CEO of Korn Ferry and Vice Chairman of Service for Board of Directors, said managers generally fire workers for objective and subjective reasons.
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Objective analysis is based on measurable details: absenteeism, failed to submit assignments, or have a bad attitude, for example, Guarino said.
To fight against the subjective parts of the formula means finding ways to stand out and being “impressive,” Guarino said.
It could be relatively challenging as workers lose their negotiating power, he said.
“In a job-friendly market, if you don’t have that many employment activities, you may feel like your employer is in a position to ask more from you, so you may need to actually work hard,” Guarino said. “They may have a high level of confidence that you can’t go anywhere anyway.”
This may mean taking on more responsibility or showing you’re willing to take on new opportunities and challenges, experts said.
For example, workers who maintain connections with customers and even if they are not spending their money, they are in a really strong position when the economy changes.
To that end, career coach Woodruff Santos advocates “pivoting in place.”
This requires seeking ways to move forward internally with the current company. Perhaps by seeking promotions or picking up new skillsets from colleagues, she said.
Building relationships is important even in tough job markets, experts said.
To expand your social capital (a network of mentors, colleagues, and other organizations), set yourself for success when the job market is finally thawed, Guarino said.
“During this ‘big embrace’, the era [workers] Maybe they were spending their time looking for a new job. They should invest in adding people to their networks,” Guarino said.
“There will be another ‘big resignation’ on the horizon,” he said. “What builds their social capital networks will be those who make calls when opportunities appear.”
