Updated September 2026

Low turnover used to be a sign that things were going well. In 2026, though, it could be a warning sign.

While most workforce conversations over the past year have centered on AI disruption, layoffs, and job security, a less visible problem has taken hold. Employees are staying. But a growing number of them aren't staying because they're engaged, fulfilled, or growing. They're staying because the alternative feels too risky.

This is job hugging, and it's becoming one of the most significant workforce challenges employers need to understand.

What is job hugging and why is it spreading in 2026?

Job hugging is when employees remain in roles even when they feel disengaged, unchallenged, or stuck. This may happen because of economic uncertainty, AI anxiety, or a cooling labor market can make leaving feel too dangerous, which means employee retention is driven by fear rather than loyalty.

The data paints a clear picture of how widespread this has become. According to a February 2026 Resume Builder survey, 57% of U.S. workers now identify as job huggers, up from 45% just five months earlier. Monster's 2025 WorkWatch Report found that 75% of workers plan to stay in their current roles for at least two years, with 63% predicting the trend will accelerate.

But the most revealing data comes from MetLife's 2026 Employee Benefit Trends Study. While 77% of employees intend to stay with their current employer, 56% are staying out of necessity rather than genuine commitment. Only 18% say they plan to stay because they truly want to.

That’s a big gap between retention and commitment, and it can hurt your business.

How AI anxiety is accelerating the job hugging trend

AI is accelerating both the urgency and the anxiety behind job hugging. According to ResumeBuilder, 70% of workers worry that AI will affect their job security, and 63% worry about layoffs in the next six months.

That fear is keeping people in place, but it's also creating a growing skills gap. As AI reshapes how work gets done, the demand for skills in data literacy, critical thinking, adaptability, and cross-functional collaboration is accelerating. Without structured development pathways, employees who are already disengaged may fall further behind, clinging tighter to roles that are themselves evolving.

Gallup's 2026 report adds another dimension: AI adoption is significantly more successful when managers actively support it, but with manager engagement at historic lows, many organizations lack the leadership layer needed to drive meaningful adoption. The technology is ready. The workforce, in many cases, is not.

How disengaged retention is costing employers billions in lost productivity

On the surface, low turnover looks like stability. People are staying, so your organization must be doing something right.

But underneath, it can mask serious problems with engagement, productivity, and organizational agility.

Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace report found that global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, its lowest level since 2020 and the third consecutive year of decline from a peak of 23% in 2022. The economic toll can be staggering, as Gallup estimates that low engagement now costs the global economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity annually, roughly 9% of global GDP.

The decline is being driven disproportionately by managers. Manager engagement dropped from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025, a nine-point decline that has effectively erased the "engagement premium" managers historically held over individual contributors. When the people responsible for leading teams, driving change, and supporting employee development are themselves disengaged, the ripple effects touch every part of the organization.

Meanwhile, the quit rate has fallen to 1.9%, and the pay premium for switching jobs has narrowed to its lowest point since tracking began in 2020, with the Atlanta Fed's wage growth tracker showing the gap between job switchers and stayers has virtually vanished.

That means the financial incentive that once pulled disengaged employees toward new opportunities is largely gone. The result is a workforce where disengaged employees are staying in place at historically high rates, with no natural release valve.

This creates a compounding problem. Innovation stalls, career pathways get clogged up, and high performers get stuck behind colleagues who aren't advancing. And when the labor market eventually loosens, organizations risk losing their best people in a wave of delayed departures.

How to tell if your employees are staying for the right reasons

Low turnover numbers can be reassuring, but they don't tell you whether your workforce is genuinely committed or simply stuck. Here are some signs that retention in your organization may be driven by fear rather than engagement.

• ●Participation in development programs is declining. Employees who are mentally checked out tend to stop investing in their own growth. If enrollment in training, mentorship, or education benefits is dropping while headcount stays flat, that's a red flag.
• ●Internal mobility has stalled. When disengaged employees aren't leaving but also aren't advancing, the pipeline freezes. If fewer people are applying for internal roles or moving between teams, job hugging may be blocking career pathways.
• ●Managers report that employees are "fine" but not improving. Job huggers often maintain baseline performance without taking initiative, volunteering for new projects, or seeking feedback. Steady but stagnant is a pattern worth paying attention to.
• ●Absenteeism or quiet disengagement is rising. Increased sick days, lower meeting participation, fewer contributions in collaborative settings, and a general sense of going through the motions can all signal employees who are present but not engaged.
• ●Exit interview themes don't match current employee sentiment. If employees who do leave cite lack of growth or feeling stuck, but your engagement surveys show acceptable satisfaction scores, the disconnect may indicate that many remaining employees feel the same way but haven't left yet.
• ●Employee retention is high but innovation isn't. If the same teams with the lowest turnover are also producing the fewest new ideas, process improvements, or strategic contributions, stability may be masking stagnation.

If several of these patterns are showing up together, it's worth digging deeper. The goal isn't to push employees out the door. It's to make sure the ones who stay are staying because they see a future with your organization, not because they're afraid of what's outside it.

Why upskilling and reskilling are proven strategies to re-engage disengaged employees

The good news is that employees want to grow. They just need the opportunity.

The Bright Horizons 2026 Education Index reinforces this, finding that 77% of employees say they would prefer to remain with their current employer if clear internal advancement opportunities exist. Employers are willing to work for this advancement, with 83% of workers being motivated to learn new skills to advance their careers.

Employees who see a clear growth path within their organization are more likely to stay for the right reasons and contribute meaningfully while they're there. As a result, upskilling and reskilling can both re-engage employees and help organizations fill critical roles internally, reduce external hiring costs, and build the adaptive capacity needed to keep pace with AI-driven change.

Career development is consistently cited as one of the top reasons employees leave their jobs. When organizations provide it proactively, they convert a retention risk into a retention strategy.

How education assistance benefits can create scalable workforce growth

Education benefits can be critical to your workforce strategy. If your organization already offers a strategic education program through a provider like EdAssist, you have a direct lever for addressing job hugging and its downstream effects.

EdAssist helps employers turn longer-tenure employees, the very population most likely to be job hugging, into an engaged, future-ready workforce. Through tuition assistance, strategic learning partnerships, and skill-aligned education programs, EdAssist enables organizations to:

• ●Re-engage disengaged employees by making upskilling practical, job-relevant, and accessible through comprehensive education benefits
• ●Close critical skills gaps with debt-conscious education benefits and student loan support that remove financial barriers to learning
• ●Build internal mobility pipelines with clear, accessible career pathways that give employees real reasons to stay and grow

When employees can see a future within your organization, job hugging transforms from a retention liability into genuine retention.

How to build a future-ready workforce that stays for the right reasons

Job hugging may be quiet, but its impact compounds over time. Organizations that proactively invest in career development and upskilling strategies are better positioned to re-engage their workforce, drive productivity, and stay competitive as AI reshapes the landscape.

Download the 2026 Education Index to learn how leading employers are using education benefits as a strategic tool for growth.

Or, get in touch to explore how EdAssist can help you build an education benefits program that strengthens retention and closes critical skills gaps.