"Job hugging" just replaced "quiet quitting" as corporate America's new workplace phenomenon. This reveals a massive blind spot in how companies are managing talent right now.

Workers are quitting at the lowest rate in years. Employees who were confidently walking out the door during the Great Resignation are now "hugging" their current positions. Korn Ferry calls it "holding on to their jobs for dear life."

This trend shows a key principle of behavioral economics: loss aversion.

Uncertainty is spiking: tariffs are disrupting supply chains and AI anxiety is spreading. Immigration raids are decimating workforces in some industries and even tech employees fear H1B changes. This uncertainty triggers loss averse behavior. Stanford economist Nick Bloom nailed it: "Unless you have a better option, quitting in risky times is a huge gamble."

Here’s why this is problematic:
The Innovation Paradox: Stuck employees mean stagnant career development, says Peter Cappelli, a professor at the Wharton School. When workers can't leave, they stop growing. When they stop growing, companies stop innovating. Job switching isn’t just about the money, it's about the value created by fresh perspectives and new challenges.

The Turnover Paradox: Every CEO complains about costly employee churn. But zero turnover isn't the goal. In fact, low turnover can be a red flag. Some healthy circulation brings in new ideas, creates advancement opportunities, and signals that your workplace is worth staying for because people choose it, not because they're trapped.

The Stress Contagion Effect: Multiple studies show that workplace anxiety spreads through teams like a virus. One stressed employee clinging to their role out of fear can trigger a cascade of similar behavior. Before long, you have an entire organization operating from a scarcity mindset rather than an abundance mentality.

The companies that will win in 2025 and beyond aren't the ones with the lowest turnover. They're the ones who create environments where employees stay because they're excited about the future, not terrified of leaving.

Three questions for leaders:
- Are you inadvertently creating a culture where people feel they can't leave? If your retention is driven by fear rather than fulfillment, that's a ticking time bomb.
- How are you investing in internal mobility and development for employees who might otherwise seek growth elsewhere?
- Most importantly: Are you measuring WHY people stay, not just THAT they stay?

The job huggers aren't the problem. They're the symptom. The real question is whether your organization is worth staying for, or it’s just too scary to leave.
I’ve added a NYT article on this topic below.

What are you seeing in your organization? Are high performers staying engaged, or just staying put?

As “job hugging” replaces “quiet quitting,” a new workplace paradox is emerging. Employees are holding tight to their roles, not out of loyalty, but out of fear — fear of economic instability, AI disruption, and shifting immigration policies. This piece explores how loss aversion is reshaping corporate culture and warns that the companies thriving in 2025 won’t be the ones with the lowest turnover, but those where people want to stay, not need to.