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As companies reduce recruiting to a bare minimum, employees have increasingly responded by holding tightly to the relatively secure jobs they already have, and forgetting about trying to jump to better professional or salary opportunities elsewhere. The upshot of that job hugging is that managers should benefit from increased staff stability, especially with a majority of those workers now saying they’re strapping themselves in for at least two more years — whether they want to or not. Remember the heady, indeed headache-y Great Resignation of 2021-2023, when the post-pandemic abundance of job openings and rising wages led workers to swap employers at dizzying paces? Job hugging is creating an opposite situation you might call the Grand Retention. That’s happening as employees hold tight to secure and comfortable positions, and banish any thoughts about facing today’s cold and inhospitable employment market. According to a new survey by work opportunity platform Monster, nearly 50 percent of the 1,004 U.S. workers it surveyed said they’d joined the current job hugging trend, with 63 percent predicting its spread across workplaces will accelerate in 2026. As a result, employers may finally be rid of cold-sweat flashbacks of Great Resignation era scrambling to fill jobs. According to Monster, nearly half of all workers it questioned said they’re not only holding tight to their existing jobs, but in doing so are sticking with them longer than they had planned to. That stay-put strategy looks set to be in place long–term, too. Fully 75 percent of respondents said they intend on sticking with their current employers for at least two more years, by which time today’s anemic hiring rates may have rebounded. Featured Video An Inc.com Featured Presentation In other words, the unofficial motto for the workforce facing today’s miserly job market is to move slow and break nothing — especially anything affecting employment security. “Workers are holding on tighter than ever, but not because they’re complacent but because they’re cautious,” said Monster career expert Vicki Salemi in comments on the findings. “Job security and stability have become emotional safety nets. The new loyalty is about survival, not necessarily satisfaction.” It’s also not entirely about loyalty, but also about sticking solidly with stable work. That’s why the job hugging trend winds up being a two-way street for both employers and their clingy workers. On the one hand, companies can rely on rock solid staff stability, which may allow them to optimize their workforce through assignment changes or other potentially disruptive moves at minimal risk of affected employees quitting. At the same time, business owners Monster also surveyed said they appreciated the employee commitment, institutional knowledge, and lower turnover costs that job hugging affords. On the other hand, employees benefit from the comfort of safeguarding their pay and benefits, as well as their employment security — the reasons most cited for their job hugging decision. The fact that three-quarters of respondents said they plan to stay put for at least two more years is also in part due to that defensive clinginess being viewed either neutrally, or in a positive fashion by a combined 93 percent of survey participants. Who’d fault a colleague from refusing to jump ship in a raging typhoon? So what could go wrong with staffs putting headlocks on their jobs? On the employee side, 94 percent of respondents said defensively digging into their current roles increased the risk they’ll eventually regret missed chances of higher pay. Other potentially negative consequences participants cited included burning out from lack of change, or feeling their career advancement had become stuck. That last concern may also create problems for business owners. Minimal turnover may result in many employees feeling they’ve stagnated while waiting out the labor market freeze. That’s especially true of higher performers, who in a less dire employment scenario would likely look for better outside possibilities — or demand internal opportunities. According to a recent blog post by management consultancy Korn Ferry — which initially coined the term “job hugging” — those risks mean businesses should act now to minimize their consequences in the future. In doing so, the company advises companies to identify their most talented and productive workers, and offer them additional training and advancement opportunities. Doing that should keep more valued employees satisfied as long as national hiring rates remain flat, and give them additional reasons to stay put when the job market opens up again. “Show your employees that you care about them reaching their personal objectives,” said Alan Guarino, Korn Ferry’s vice chairman of board and CEO services practice, in comments on managing the job hugging craze. “(G)ive them a safe, fair, working environment, and you will win the long game.” Indeed, while Monster’s survey indicates respondents believe job hugging will likely accelerate into 2026, Salemi says employers should remain mindful that the trend will weaken once job markets pick up again. Preparing for that, businesses should start making moves now to retain people they’ll want to keep when the current labor market freeze starts thawing. “Staying put doesn’t mean standing still,” she said. “Workers can continue to explore new opportunities passively and evaluate them carefully. The bar for making a move may be higher right now, but it’s not closed.”
