5 reasons employees aren’t moving on

While the common narrative suggests we’re in an era of restless workers leaving jobs in search of better pay and greater opportunities, Roxanne Calder is seeing a different trend emerge – one where employees increasingly choose to stay put in their roles. So, what’s driving this shift?

Across industries and demographics, a noticeable shift is underway, with more employees choosing to remain in their current roles, challenging the widespread perception of a constantly job-hopping workforce.

Speaking with HR Leader, Roxanne Calder, career adviser, founder and managing director of EST10 and author of Earning Power, identified five key reasons why more employers are opting for stability over the next big career move.

Fatigue and the pursuit of stability

After years marked by disruption, from the COVID-19 pandemic to economic instability and global uncertainty, Calder explained that many employees are simply exhausted.

This fatigue, she noted, is more than just professional burnout and work-related stress; it also encompasses “personal enervation”.

“There have been years of upheaval and enormous change. Mass redundancies, then hiring surges, tech advancements like we have never experienced before, recessions, ongoing geopolitical unrest, interest rate hikes, mortgage pressures and more,” she said.

As a result of this cumulative strain, Calder explained that rather than chasing what’s next, many employees are “choosing predictability and stability over possibility”.

Debt and financial pressure

While the idea of job hopping once promised quick salary gains, rising living costs, inflation, and mortgage pressures have made employees view changing jobs as “risky and reckless”, Calder explained.

“Sure, there might be extra dollars being offered by changing companies, but after the 2022 salary lures and subsequent job losses, employees are second-guessing these decisions,” she said.

Amid these economic and financial pressures, Calder shared that “stability, not ambition”, has become the priority for many workers, who prefer to avoid gambling on short-term gains that could come with long-term costs.

Loyalty redefined

The concept of loyalty within the workplace hasn’t disappeared; instead, Calder explained it has been “redefined”.

According to Calder, today’s employees aren’t staying in their roles out of “blind allegiance” but because they “believe in the people they work with and the purpose behind the job”.

“It’s about staying where they feel anchored and aligned,” she said.

This marks a significant shift from previous generations’ view of loyalty as allegiance to “institutions”, with Calder noting that today’s employees see it instead as a commitment “to their teams, values, and workplace culture”.

Identity entanglement

In an age where job titles often feel synonymous with personal identity, many employees struggle to separate themselves from their professional personas.

Calder explained that this has led some to “confuse leaving a job with losing a sense of self”.

She noted that the “blurred boundaries of home and work” have intensified, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when these two separate environments merged out of necessity.

This phenomenon of identity entanglement, Calder said, has only been “heightened further with increased workloads due to the skills crisis and the push to ‘find your passion and purpose’”.

As a result, she noted how changing jobs for employees can feel like a loss of identity for many, making them more inclined to remain where they feel seen, valued, and understood.

“Some confuse leaving a job with losing a sense of self, confusing career success with personal worth, ‘I am a human resources manager’ as opposed to ‘I work as a human resources manager’,” she said.

A reassessment of ambition

Finally, beneath the surface lies a deeper generational and cultural re-evaluation of ambition itself.

Calder pointed out that the traditional “era of ambition, [wanting] more and constant striving is being questioned”, as employees increasingly “choose stability over the perpetual seeking of advancement”.

This shift, she explained, is particularly evident among younger workers who “witnessed their parents sacrifice so much for their careers” and are now reassessing what success truly means.

What comes next?

While the current trend of employees staying put may seem like a reversal of the recent headlines surrounding ‘the Great Resignation’, Calder views it as a natural evolution.

“It’s been brewing beneath the surface. The Great Resignation made headlines, but it was only one part of the story. Post-pandemic, people considered not just where they work but why they work,” she said.

“The pendulum swung, first towards radical change and even rebellion, then back towards cautious grounding. Many aren’t staying because they’re passive or stuck. They’re staying because they are recalibrating what matters.”

Although these factors help explain why many employees are currently choosing stability, Calder emphasised that this mindset is not permanent and will continue to shift over time.

“Trends are rarely permanent. What resembles loyalty today might look like inertia or stagnation tomorrow. I think we will see divergence: some will embed deeply in roles that offer meaning, flexibility, and respect. Others will reawaken to ambition as markets stabilise, or opportunities peak and reignite interest,” she said.

“Here is the real shift, though: we are seeing the slow death of one-track careers. The next wave movement will be chasmic career moves.”