From Quiet Quitting to Job Hugging: What’s really going on in employee culture?
First it was "quiet quitting".
Now it’s "job hugging".
Employees aren’t quitting quietly anymore, it seems they’re hanging on. The buzzwords may change, but the underlying story is about how people respond to uncertainty.
A couple of years ago, the headlines focused on disengagement: employees doing the minimum as a way of protecting themselves from burnout or disappointment. Now the trend has flipped. Faced with uncertain markets and limited opportunities, the suggestion is that people are staying put. Especially younger workers, who in more stable times might have been expected to move more freely between jobs.
I’ve yet to come across any peer-reviewed research on “job hugging” to back up these claims. But if the behaviour is real, it reflects something long established in organisational psychology: when the world feels uncertain, stability matters. People want to feel safe. They’ll trade variety, mobility and sometimes even job satisfaction for security.
This has real implications for organisations. If employees are clinging to roles out of fear, you risk building a workforce that feels stuck rather than genuinely committed. That’s a recipe for stagnation rather than engagement.
What leaders and HR teams can do
Reward consistency and loyalty. Don’t take long-term commitment for granted.
Acknowledge stressors. Economic uncertainty, workload and future prospects weigh heavily. Naming them can reduce anxiety.
Build cultural security. Job security isn’t only contractual - it’s also cultural. Employees need to feel that staying is a choice, not a trap.
Engagement doesn’t always mean challenging assignments and ambitious progression plans. Sometimes it means creating a safe base where people feel they can weather economic turbulence and still perform well.
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