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If you’ve been paying attention to workplace trends over the past few years, you’ll likely have heard of quiet quitting - employees doing just what their job requires, no more, no less. It was a subtle signal that engagement was shifting, that people were reassessing how much energy and effort they wanted to invest in work.
Yet, as we move through 2026, a new trend is emerging. One that’s less about stepping back and more about holding on. Commonly referred to as job hugging, it’s a term increasingly being used to describe the trend of employees remaining in a role not because they are thriving, but because they are cautious. It’s perhaps no surprise in our less than stable and certain times that job hugging is on the rise.
What is particularly interesting, however, is how job hugging appears in different industries. Take hospitality, for example. An industry once defined by rotation, seasonal movement, and rapid progression is now seeing more and more people holding steady in their roles, often longer than expected. A recent Deloitte study found that 42% of hospitality workers describe themselves as ‘staying in place until things feel safer,’ which makes annual low turnover numbers really stand out. At CHG we’re seeing this firsthand, with turnover now at an all-time low of 29%.
Stability can be a good thing, but the challenge is ensuring people are staying in their roles because they are fulfilled, not simply because they are job hugging. This trend is not confined to hospitality, yet what we are seeing in this industry in particular can help other industries better understand this growing phenomenon, and how to use it as an opportunity for growth.
The leadership blind spot
The first thing hospitality quickly learned about job hugging, which applies to all industries, is that it is not simply an extension of quiet quitting. Job hugging comes not from a lack of ambition, but from a lack of psychological safety.
When employees remain in roles longer than expected, it can create a sense of stagnation, leaving management wondering if employees are motivated enough. This is what I refer to as the ‘leadership blind spot’, where management interprets caution as complacency.
When organisations mistake employees’ desire for stability for a lack of ambition, the response often focuses on retention metrics rather than engagement
When organisations mistake employees’ desire for stability for a lack of ambition, the response often focuses on retention metrics rather than engagement. That can lead to rigid hierarchies, missed opportunities for development, and even frustration within leadership teams. The alternative, and far more constructive approach, is to see this as an opportunity to better guide and support your employees.
A lot of this can be achieved by creating safe pathways for growth. Not everyone wants or needs a promotion, but most employees do want to develop. Instead of sweeping large-scale promotions, think more short-term projects and cross-department collaborations. These allow employees to experiment, learn, and enhance their skills without the risk of a full role change.
At CHG, an internal development journey called ‘Extraordinary Futures’, has become a blueprint for how development can be both business led and human-centred, supporting individuals who have the ambition and drive to grow, but need the structured opportunity to thrive.
The project implementation phase allows internal candidates to work on project briefs in collaboration with the executive team, delivered in a Dragon’s Den style to create a sense of fun, energy, and competition within the learning. By applying new skills in a real-world context, learners can evidence their growth, confidence and capability – and ultimately help drive commercial growth, too.
