Are you a job hugger? Why workers are staying put

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (0:02)
Hello, and welcome to Business Daily. I'm Vishala Sri-Pathma.
Today, we're looking at job hugging. It's a term used to describe people who stay in jobs they no longer enjoy because leaving feels too risky.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:17)
Sometimes I felt like I was in a bad relationship, you know. I know people who go through bad relationships and they don't want to go back home, so they don't have to deal with it.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (0:28)
And in uncertain economic times, many workers are deciding that sticking with what they know is safer than taking a chance on something new.

**Gene Marks** (0:37)
Back post-pandemic where there was a huge great migration of employees from jobs to jobs, now I am seeing along my clients and my own company as well, a lot of employees being a little bit more conservative and this whole trend is called job hugging and it's happening in the workplace.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (0:57)
I'm on my way to an art studio in London to meet an artist I'll call Rachel.
It's not her real name, but her story certainly is. Until very recently, she worked somewhere very different. She was an architect, but after staying in a job for a long time that she didn't really like, she finally decided to take the plunge and leave. That instinct now has a name. It's called job hugging.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:26)
I'm a mum.
I needed a job. I couldn't risk it and I think it's quite a human thing to be afraid of the unknown and I didn't know what was waiting for me if I quit.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (1:39)
Rachel worked as an architect for years. She says she loved her job when she started, but everything changed after she returned from maternity leave during COVID.
And even as work became increasingly unhappy, Rachel couldn't quite let go.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:56)
I really, really liked it because I was in the front end, designing, doing all the concepts and feasibility studies. They really liked my work and everything was going perfect, you know. And I did have my reviews. I had compliments. I was praised. It was amazing, you know.
I became a mom and then after my pregnancy leave, I think it was COVID time as well. I did go back to work and I started going one day per week and then two days per week. And then that's when it started. I said, can I come three days per week? And they were quite unsure. They were saying they didn't have enough work for me, but, you know, everything changed. And I felt like the way I was being treated was not the same and the work I was being given was not the same. And it was just odd, very unpleasant, you know. But I was holding on to it because of all the memories, because I kept thinking it could change and because I needed a job, of course. I think that's the main reason why people stay working in places where they don't enjoy anymore because they need a salary in the end of the day. But thanks God I have a lovely partner who encouraged me and kept asking me, what are you doing?
You don't need this.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (3:19)
But now when you look back, how do you feel about it?

**SPEAKER_2** (3:24)
I just wish I planned things before. I wish I thought that things could change and I was more prepared than what I thought, than what I was because I was feeling really afraid of what would happen if I left or not.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (3:43)
Why is that?

**SPEAKER_2** (3:44)
It was a change that had to happen, you know, and maybe if I started planning it before, I would be more prepared than I was when I left because it might seem like amazing to be an artist.
It's really hard work, you know, and the market is not easy for artists especially. If I was more prepared than if I thought, maybe I should start doing this sooner and not wait for a catastrophe to happen, maybe it would have been better. And if I left before than I did, I really felt hurt, you know, it did hurt me because I really like them. I like the job and then suddenly things change and I was not ready for that.

**Vishala Sri-Pathma** (4:30)
And do you think when you hear about people that stay in jobs they don't like, do you understand what they're going through?

**SPEAKER_2** (4:37)
Oh, definitely, of course I do. And I know many people like that. And my advice to them, especially if they don't have kids, if they don't have a partner, just go for it. I mean, you don't need to be crazy and quit things like I did. I was a bit crazy. I said, that's it. I had enough, I'm living because I had, as I said, my partner's support and I could go for it. But if you don't just plan it and do things slowly and be ready and send CVs and check the market. I know many people who don't even do that. They don't update their CV. They don't look for other opportunities. Maybe because of the change and they think, oh, what if it doesn't work out? What if I'm not happy? So what if you are?