But there\u2019s a difference between contented settling and fearful clinging. The latter can be detrimental to employees, employers, and the economy in general.<\/p>\n
Employees who feel compelled to stay with a job they hate may keep their head down to avoid jeopardising their paycheque \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t make them healthy or productive workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking yourself smaller to fit in is stressful,\u201d said Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, author of the award-winning book Seeking Fairness at Work: Cracking the New Code of Greater Employee Engagement, Retention & Satisfaction. Not only is it demoralising, but over the long term, it can lead to career-stalling stagnation of skills and earning potential. Survival mode keeps us alive, but we\u2019re not meant to stay in it long-term.<\/p>\n
And what about employers, who should be thrilled with less turnover and low-maintenance employees who toe the line? They don\u2019t always benefit, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cInnovation is being crimped,\u201d Hasl-Kelchner said. Job-hugging employees who are \u201cmore reluctant to take risks, raise their hand, make suggestions or offer new ideas\u201d aren\u2019t contributing to growth and competitiveness, she noted. \u201cIf you keep [employees] trapped, you get mediocrity.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, of course, when the market inevitably turns again, unhappy employees will move on and leave the employer with a big hole to fill.<\/p>\n
Finally, at the macro level, businesses\u2019 difficulty in planning for growth and expansion amid tariff and supply-chain concerns, coupled with job-hugging by established workers, means less opportunity for new talent to enter the job market. My inbox can attest to the struggles new grads face as they seek jobs relevant to their training; Hasl-Kelchner said she\u2019s increasingly hearing that even graduates from top-tier business schools are struggling to break in.<\/p>\n
In the face of these economic pressures and fears, Hasl-Kelchner suggests both employees and employers use this slowdown as an opportunity to \u201cregroup, on both sides of the desk\u201d.<\/p>\n
Employees need to resist the pull to duck and disengage, she says, and instead remind themselves and their bosses of how their work creates value and moves the organisation forward. Hasl-Kelchner also recommends keeping resumes and skill sets up-to-date. Being discreetly prepared to make a move at any time, she notes, is empowering.<\/p>\n
To that, I would add: If you\u2019re feeling stuck in a job you hate, now really isn\u2019t the time to take a leap of faith or burn bridges. Thanks to unemployment stigma, it\u2019s still easier to land a job when you already have a job. But you can keep a pilot light burning and an eye out for any trend-defying opportunities. Hold on, loosely.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, employers who might be tempted to take job-hunkering employees for granted should instead double down on communication and appreciation, said Hasl-Kelchner, adding, \u201cEmployees want a good reason to stay, and leaders can give them that if they focus on company culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
To prevent a harmful, divisive us-versus-them dynamic between management and workers, she suggests managers be transparent with employees about their own concerns and fears and invite employees to engage in joint problem-solving efforts.<\/p>\n
Just as she advises employees to polish their resumes and focus on their own contributions, Hasl-Kelchner urges employers to \u201clook at their internal labour portfolio,\u201d asking where their strengths are and what advantages they have over competitors. Then they can focus on preparing for the next stage of growth, even though it may be scaled back or postponed.<\/p>\n
Finally, Hasl-Kelchner recommends employers keep sight of the employment contract as a human relationship involving good faith, honesty and respect so they can avoid a talent exodus the next time the market turns. \u201cIf you treat that relationship as transactional, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll get,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The pause in employee turnover is \u201ca gift to management, and I hope they don\u2019t squander it,\u201d Hasl-Kelchner said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"But there\u2019s a difference between contented settling and fearful clinging. The latter can be detrimental to employees, employers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1665,138,52586,1601,2893,52585,296,3112,232,2250,2882,111,139,7805,69,8617,52587,11588,3765,25809,4576,4478,197],"class_list":["post-64894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-advice","tag-business","tag-cling","tag-expert","tag-fear","tag-hugging","tag-into","tag-job","tag-jobs","tag-longer","tag-love","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-no","tag-nz","tag-offers","tag-regrouping","tag-retreat","tag-tips","tag-turning","tag-work","tag-workers","tag-you"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64894","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=64894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}