Are You a ‘Job Hugger’? Fear of the Labor Market Is Keeping Many from Moving On

Another new term has entered the labor market lexicon, to go along with “quiet quitting” and many others, and you might be doing it without even realizing it: job hugging.

Consultants from the firm Korn Ferry (KFY) wrote about the phrase last week, using it to describe the increasing number of American workers who are holding tight to their jobs because of worries about the job market.

More Workers Looking to Stay Put Amid Slow Labor Market

The rise of job hugging comes after an extended period, the so-called “Great Resignation,” when workers were eager to hop from one job to another in pursuit of better pay and other perks like remote work. Korn Ferry managing consultant Stacy DeCesaro said that in the current labor market, “top performers are only leaving if they’re miserable in their roles.”

Last month, Eagle Hill Consulting reported that its quarterly surveys indicated workers are becoming increasingly likely to remain in their roles for at least the next six months, while also displaying growing pessimism about the job market.

The “quits” rate compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Reserve came in at 2.0 in June, the lowest non-pandemic level since 2016, suggesting that workers are preferring to stay put for the time being. The hiring rate has also slowed after normalizing from a massive drop and then a surge during and just after the pandemic. In recent months, it’s hit the lowest rate in a decade.

Concerns About Worsening Economic Outlook Also Potential Factors

Some consumers are also likely holding on to their jobs because they think they might not have them much longer. In the most recent consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan, 60% of respondents said they expect the unemployment rate to get worse over the next year, nearly double where the metric was in November, and the highest rate since the Great Recession.

The shift also comes amid uncertainty about the reliability of job numbers coming from the federal government, as President Donald Trump has recently criticized the monthly jobs data coming from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after the report for July showed far fewer jobs added than expected. Recent data has shown that workers are currently unlikely to be laid off or hired, leading to an also-low rate of workers leaving their jobs on their own.

When the Conference Board polled CEOs late last month, just over a third said they expect their company’s workforce to shrink in the next year, a higher rate than three months prior, as fewer CEOs said they planned to have the same amount or more workers.

The Bottom Line

Economic uncertainty is driving many into “job hugging.” Instead of chasing higher pay or new opportunities, many workers are staying put out of fear that the job market could turn against them. For employees, that means stability often outweighs ambition right now; for employers, it’s a reminder that keeping talent may be easier than attracting it.