recent report<\/a> from job search site Monster.com found that nearly half of employed workers say they\u2019re currently staying in their roles longer than they otherwise might, for comfort, security or stability, with three-quarters expecting to remain in the same job for at least two more years.<\/p>\n\u201cWorkers are holding on tighter than ever, but not because they\u2019re complacent,\u201d said Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster. \u201cIt\u2019s because they\u2019re cautious. Job security and stability have become emotional safety nets. The new loyalty is about survival, not necessarily satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re one of these job huggers, then take it from me: you\u2019re killing your future.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying you should leave your current job. If you really like the company you\u2019re working at and the work that you\u2019re doing and the people you\u2019re working with, then good for you. But don\u2019t just hug your job. Because \u2013 unless what you do doesn\u2019t involve a computer \u2013 your job isn\u2019t going to be the same in a very short period of time. It may not even exist at all. Tech companies are rolling out AI-based agents, bots and software that will \u2013 in the not-too-distant future \u2013 do everything from write press releases, answer customer questions, place orders and reconcile bank accounts. Hugging your existing job is like hugging your sick dog who\u2019s about to be put down. There is no miracle that\u2019s going to save either.<\/p>\n
The good news is that your employer is just as confused as you. I\u2019d love to make time stand still. But I see big changes coming for my business too, and I don\u2019t have all the answers. My business depends on my people. I want them to come to me with solutions. I want them to have my back just as much they want me to have theirs. Hugging their existing job may prove their loyalty. But it\u2019s not helping my business. I know that my business will have to adapt to the technology wave that\u2019s fast coming. I\u2019ll be loyal to any worker who is willing to step up and adapt along with me.<\/p>\n
Which is why a job hugger hurts employers like me. People are so concerned about losing their job that they only think about what they can do for themselves and not my company. They make decisions to protect what they do. They don\u2019t take risks. They avoid additional work. They are averse to taking chances. They\u2019ll shun responsibility. This can only last for so long.<\/p>\n
Business owners like myself are never \u201chugging\u201d our jobs. We\u2019re constantly looking for new ways to make money. Or cut costs. Or run more efficiently. Job hugging is a form of suicide. If we stay still, we die. It\u2019s no different if you\u2019re an employee.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not a big fan of the company, don\u2019t just sit there. Look for something else while you still have your existing job. You\u2019re much more marketable (and have a stronger negotiating position) when you\u2019re still employed.<\/p>\n
It may seem that clinging to stability is the safe way to go. But it\u2019s a perilous long-term strategy. You\u2019re not learning new skills. You\u2019re not adapting. You\u2019re not taking strategic risks. Job hugging is a losing strategy. Now is not the time to stand still.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After all the employee protests over the past few years \u2013 the \u201cgreat resignations\u201d, the \u201cquiet quittings\u201d, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,219,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-285480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}