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Amid an uncertain economythe growth of AI, tariffs, rising costscompanies are pulling back on hiring. As layoffs increase, the labor market cools, and unemployment ticks up, were seeing fewer people quitting their jobs. The implication: Many workers will be job hugging and sitting tight in their roles through 2026. Put more pessimistically: Employees are going to feel stuck where they are for the foreseeable future. In many cases, that means staying in unsatisfying jobs. Gallups 2025 State of the Global Workforce report shows that employee engagement has fallen to 21%. And a March 2025 study of 1,000 U.S. workers by advisory and consulting firm Fractional Insights showed that 44% of employees reported feeling workplace angst, despite often showing intent to stay. So if these employees are hugging their current roles, its not an act of affection. Its often in desperation. Being a job hugger means youre feeling anxious, insecure, more likely to stay but also more likely to want to leave, says Erin Eatough, chief science officer and principal adviser at Fractional Insights, which applies organizational psychology insights to the workplace. You often see a self-protective response: Nothing to see here, Im doing a good job, Im not leaving. This performative behavior can be psychologically damaging, especially in a culture of layoffs. If I was scared of losing my job Id try everything to keep it: complimenting my boss, staying late, going to optional meetings, being a good organizational citizen, says Anthony Klotz, professor of organizational behavior at the UCL School of Management in London. But we know that when people arent loving their jobs but are still going above and beyond, that its a one-way trip to burnout. The tight squeeze In cases where jobs arent immediately under threat, the effects of hugging are more likely to be slow burning. When an employees only motivation is to collect a consistent paycheck, discretionary effort drops. Theyre less productive. Engagement takes a huge hit. Over time, that gradually chips away at their well-being. Humans want to feel useful, that they care about the work theyre doing, and that theyre investing their time well, Eatough says. When efforts are low, that can impact a persons sense of value. The effects stretch beyond the workplace, too. Frustrated and reluctant stayers can quickly end up in a vicious cycle, Klotz says, noting, When youre in a situation that feels like its sucking life out of you, you end up ruminating about how depleting it is, then end up so tired that you dont have energy for restorative activities outside of work. So its this downward spiralyou begin your workday even more depleted. Longer term, job hugging stunts growth. When youre looking out for yourself, rather than the team or organization, your investment in working relationships begins to break down, Eatough says. Over time, staying in that situation means youre more likely to become deeply cynical, which hurts the individual and their career trajectory. When hugging becomes clinging Feeling stuck is nothing new. At some point in their careers, most workers will be in a situation where if they could leave for a better role, they would, says Klotz, who predicted the Great Resignation. But what distinguishes job hugging is that its anxiously clinging to a role during unfavorable labor markets. Its not that employees dont want to quitits that they cant. Its human nature that when theres a threat of any sort that we move away from it and towards stability, Klotz says. Your job represents that stability. And currently, its not a great time to switch jobs. There are few options for job huggers. The first is speaking up and working with a manager to improve the situation. But this might be unlikely for employees who feel trapped or lack motivation in the first place. Klotz says cognitive reframing can helpfocusing purely on the positive aspects of a draining role, such as a friendly team, and tuning out the rest. Finally, slowly backing away from extra tasksin other words, quiet quittingcould mean workers can redraw work-life boundaries in the interim at least. Otherwise, beyond Stoic philosophy or a benevolent boss, there is little choice but to wait it out. In some cases, a job hugger may eventually turn it around, ease their grip, and become quietly content in their role. But more often, wanting to quit usually leads to actually quitting. In effect, job hugging is damage control: hanging on until the situation changes. I think well see some people be resilient, wait it out, and find another role, Klotz says. But therell be others in the quagmire of struggling with exhaustion of spending eight hours a day in a job they dont like.
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E-Commerce
Endings are tricky: You want closure and to go out with a bangwhich is a hard balance. Its natural to want the end of the year to be meaningful. Even the moon appears to agree with this sentiment, and it’s about to prove it. The final full moon of 2025, which is also called the cold moon, will be a bright supermoon occurring on December 4. Before we get into how best to moon-gaze, lets break down what that all means, and do a year-end moon review. Why is Decembers full moon called the ‘cold moon’? Human beings assign names even to celestial happenings. The Old Farmers Almanac compiled the most commonly used monikers, based on Old English and Native American sources. Decembers moon is called the cold moon because of the chilly winter temperatures. According to EarthSky, it is also known as Moon Before Yule or the Long Night Moon. What is a supermoon? The moon orbits Earth in an elliptical pattern, which means the orb has differing proximity to the planet. When the full moon lines up with the closer approach to Earth, known as perigee, a supermoon occurs. The moon appears brighter and fuller because it is physically closer to Earth. What makes this supermoon special? Decembers supermoon offering is the finale of three consecutive supermoons, which also occurred in October and November this year. Because the orb will mirror the sun, Decembers supermoon will also be the highest-hanging full moon of 2025. What is the moons 2025 recap? There were 12 full moons in 2025. (Sometimes, because of the lunar year length, there are 13, such as in 2023.) 2025s dozen included three supermoons, two total lunar eclipsesand a partridge in a pear tree. (Well, the scientific nature of the latter is questionable . . . but tis the season.) How best to view the December supermoon The most dramatic time to view the supermoon is just after moonrise, because of the moon illusion. This phenomenon, which is when the moon appears larger when near the horizon, cant be fully explained by science. This optical illusion of sorts, combined with the fact that the supermoon appears brighter and bigger, makes for one spectacular nighttime view. Since viewing times vary by location, use this moonrise tool to best plan your moon-gazing experience.If you miss tonight, never fear. The moon will reach its peak on December 4 at 6:14 p.m. ET, but it will appear full for a couple of days, so you have wiggle room that allows for more moon-gazing opportunities.
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E-Commerce
Its a tale as old as the modern workplace: In the 1960s, women entered the workforce en masse, ready to compete with their male counterparts for promotions, pay, and opportunityonly to find the system wasnt built for them. Today, women comprise almost half of the U.S. labor force. The playing field looks different now, but the fight for equal access hasnt gone away. It just moved into subtler territory. Companies make quiet calculations about whos worth investing in, says Corinne Low, gender economist and associate business professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business. Women often face career penalties in anticipation of motherhood as employers presume theyre more likely to take leave or step back. Once in their 40s, past childbearing, this bias fades. But not before its done damage. The cost of inaction is huge: 4 out of 10 mothers in the first five years after childbirth resign. In 2025, around 400,000 mothers with young children resigned from the U.S. workforcethe sharpest decline in more than 40 years. Mothers face a training penalty that hinders their career advancement On average, data shows women working full-time only earn 83% of a mans median annual salary. Mothers face even worse oddstheir pay is often reduced by 3% for every child they have. A new study from the University of Connecticut finds that, one to three years after childbirth, women are 17% to 22% less likely to receive on-the-job training opportunities, such as seminars, workshops, and development programs, compared with a 3% to 8% decline for men who became fathers. The result is a hidden skills and promotion gap that may explain nearly a third of the motherhood wage penalty. When women have children, theyre viewed as less committed or competent, research showsa bias that leads employers to assume mothers are too busy, distracted, or disinterested to participate in training opportunities. This is called benevolent prescriptive stereotyping, and it doesnt do mothers any favors, says Joan C. Williams, distinguished professor of law emerita and founding director of the Equality Action Center at UC Law San Francisco. As Williams points out: If you don’t get work, you eventually either get laid off because you’re not progressing, or you leave because you’re disgusted that you don’t get good work. Or you just stall out. If a mother turns down an opportunity for training or advancement, its important to circle backnot to assume its a permanent no, says Williams. She also recommends employers keep track of who receives opportunities in their workplaceand who doesnt. Supporting mothers isnt a charity case Another opportunity mothers are often left out of is informal networking, like happy hours, dinners, or travel, says Kate Westlund Tovsen, founder of Society of Working Moms, a supportive community for and by working mothers. Even if a mother cant attend, Its nice to be invited, Tovsen adds, who suggests teams try daytime coffee hours as a caregiver-friendly option. Mothers are forced to be proactive, as many companies lack frameworks to support leave or reintegration, Williams cautions. She advises scheduling meetings with superiors before and after taking family leave to make a plan. And though being a new mother is a relatively short blip on a womans career, companies often make permanent decisions in terms of who they’re investing in based on this kind of temporary period when women are most squeezed, says Low. Supporting mothers is not a charity case, she argues, but a competitive edge that lets them retain talent long term. Caregiver strategies and investments, including benefits and return-to-work programs, deliver measurable business returns, states Jess Ringgenberg, professional certified coach and CEO of Elxir, an advisory firm focusing on caregivers in the workplace. Companies see three to six times ROI through higher retention, productivity, and lower absenteeism with such programs, Ringgenberg says. Replacing a mid-level caregiver comes with backfill, training, and ramp-up expenses that can reach $200,000, says Ringgenberg, or totaling twice the employees annual salary. But some companies are already working hard to help mothers succeedand its paying off. Small and large companies finding solutions Frontier Co-op, an Iowa-based wholesaler of natural and organic products with around 580 employees, created the Breaking Down Barriers to Employment initiative, which includes an on-site childcare center, subsidized to $120 per week per child. Their childcare program enables parents to participate in training programs and developmental opportunities that might otherwise be missed, explains Megan Schulte, vice president of human resources. She says 100% of new parents returned to work after their parental leave. While Frontier Co-op eases the logistical strains of childcare, Brigade Events, a woman-owned and operated event strategy and management company in Dallas with 10 full-time employees, tackles rebuilding confidence and access for women who stepped out. The company views its mentorship and project-based work model as a form of retraining, recognizing womens existing expertise, rather than resetting them to zero. Senior employees work on a hybrid schedulethree days from home, two in-officeto preserve collaboration while creating space for caregiving. Brigade doesnt bat an eye at blocked calendars for a childs doctor appointment or school event. Our whole culture is giving grace to each other, says April Zorsky, partner and chief creative officer. One of their policies is that mothers returning from their 16-week maternityleave take a transition month working at 50% capacity. This can mean working from home, setting their own schedules, and easing back in without penalty. As moms, we feel its crucial to have flexibility, says Zorksy. Larger companies can learn to be more flexible and collaborative, too, says Marissa Andrade, a veteran HR executive and former chief people officer at Chipotle. She recalls when one of her field managers chose to take a six-month maternity leave during a period of company-wide turnaround. Before she left, she requested an interim hire from the Mom Project, a digital platform that helps companies to hire skilled mothers, to support her leave. It went so smoothly that the field manager was able to reenter without missing a beat. Andrada recommends establishing employeebusiness resource groups. At Chipotle, one employee-created group, The Hustle (Humans United to Support the Ladies Experience), formed a maternity program to keep employees in the loop while on leave, and reoriented them on compliance and training updates on their return. Dont overlook the power of your employees as your consumer, says Andrada. When companies invite access for mothersto training, to support, to opportunities that just dont reacclimate them to their roles, but get them to thrive in themeveryone wins. Mothers arent just reentering the workforce with confidence. Employers are retaining their talent, too.
Category:
E-Commerce
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