What is job hugging and why are Aussies clinging to their careers?
Every few years you might feel a quiet itch to hand in your resignation letter and look for a new job. Whether it's to experience a change of pace, to learn new skills, or give your income a shiny upgrade.
A global study shows that on average, job hoppers have historically experienced double the salary increases compared to job stayers in a period of three years.
And sometimes, job hopping can feel like the unspoken rule to getting the promotion or pay rise you want, but you can’t seem to get internally.
But recent data shows that people are now flipping the script and opting to “job hug” instead of “job hop”.
Firstly, it’s got nothing to do with hugging your boss.
Job hugging is a new employment trend where employees are choosing to stay in their current positions instead of shopping around for better opportunities.
Recruitment experts say it reflects a shift from employees chasing flexibility to focus on skill development, stability and long term employability instead.
Why? One major reason is the growing fear of losing income in Australia’s cost of living crisis, where job cuts have been rampant, and unemployment rates continue to creep up.
Young Australians who have less work experience are copping it hardest, and struggling to break into job markets at all.
So even though Gen Zers were driving “The Great Resignation” movement during the Covid pandemic, numbers show they’re actually a lot less likely to job hop than the same age group ten years ago.
Job mobility rate of 15-24 year old Australians (1994 to 2025)
You see, from 1994 the rate of job hopping for 15-24 year olds has almost halved from 20.6% to just 11.5% in 2025… not what you might expect after watching all the TikToks about Gen Z work attitudes.
While some international data shows that job stayers are seeing higher wage growth (4.1%) than job hoppers (4.0%) for the first time since the Great Recession, the short answer is it depends.
Wage growth doesn’t just vary based on economic factors, it also depends on your industry, your work experience, and your ability to sell yourself well in interviews and performance reviews!
And at the end of the day, you need to make decisions that are right for you and your financial situation…even if it means job hugging until you secure a new role.
But if you want some tips on how to ask for a pay rise in the meantime, we’ve got your back:
What are your thoughts on job hopping and job hugging? 🤔
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