In 2025 just 584,000 jobs were created, far below the more than 2 million added in each of the prior two years. With this slowdown in hiring, people seeking work in 2026 are finding roles harder to come by; those voluntarily looking for new roles will also likely face a challenge to land a new job.
At face value, this may seem like a job market that is poised for talent retention. However, a slower hiring environment doesn’t automatically lead to a more engaged or satisfied workforce, especially as employees weigh stability against fulfillment.
In fact, employee sentiment tells a different story. According to LinkedIn’s 2025 Labor Market Report, 52% of workers plan to job hunt in 2026, with 70% considering switching jobs within the next two years. The current job market and hiring slowdown have created an environment in which employees are wary of leaving their roles, yet many remain disengaged. Employers who fail to recognize this and who don’t take strategic measures to increase engagement, enrich culture and support employees may see decreased productivity, rising apathy and the emergence of job hugging.
What Is Job Hugging?
Job hugging is what it sounds like: holding on to – or staying put in – a role out of security rather than engagement. A cooling labor market coupled with uncertain economy means an ideal environment for job hugging — why would an employee leave the financial stability of a position they hold when the likelihood of a new role elsewhere is low and the future of the economy is uncertain?
If employees are staying put and job hugging (at least until 2027 per a survey from Monster), how can employers re-engage their employees?
Creating an Elevated Employee Experience
Today’s employees want an elevated experience beyond just compensation. They want to feel valued holistically, have the opportunity to learn and grow and utilize their talent to bring meaning and purpose to their work.
Here’s a strategic guide to workforce planning that can enhance your company culture, improve workplace morale and stabilize your talent retention.
Offering In-House Career Growth Opportunities
The benefits associated with employee development programs are numerous. In many successful initiatives, employees can unleash their creativity, often becoming more goal-oriented and inspired by their team. Ultimately, this leads to greater job satisfaction, performance improvements and better retention — all of which can benefit both employees and the organization at large.
Employee development programs require:
- Performance management and enhancement, career path mapping and position-specific training.
- Executive coaching and leadership development to retain high-potential and top-performing employees.
- Anti-harassment and respectful workplace training for safe and ethical workplaces.
- Workshops on resilience, wellbeing and adaptation to change to provide employee’s adversity skills.
Taking a Total Rewards Approach
Total reward strategies provide a compelling value proposition for your employees.
Employers who appropriately reward their talent for bringing their skills, expertise and optimal performance build a valuable employer brand and enjoy minimal attrition and maximum retention. When it all comes together, your organization's business goals and objectives are driven forward with the skills, expertise and commitment of a workforce that feels valued.
Effective total rewards programs include:
- Customized creation based on strategic planning, market and industry-specific benchmarking.
- Executive compensation packages that utilize market salary data and long-term incentives tailored to organizational budget and compensation philosophy.
- Establishing compensation program design that aligns with organizational goals and adapts to the changing market with structured incentive plans for both short- and long-term.
- Compensation benchmarking to identify gaps and priorities in executive and general employee salary structure.
- Conducting pay equity audits, pay for performance modeling and compensation reasonability studies (for nonprofits).
Standing Out with Effective Leave Management
In NFP’s 2026 Leave Management Report, we found some striking data. Of those surveyed, only 10% of employers offer accommodation for menopause, one of the most significant but overlooked equity gaps in the workplace. 59% of respondents offered parental leave, but 27% still distinguish between primary and secondary caregivers, creating legal risk and inequity. Only 30% of employers offer caregiver leave — likely far too few to meet the sandwich generation’s needs.
This means there’s a critical window for employers to stand out if they can:
- Address communication gaps — employees often misunderstand leave policies.
- Quantify the hidden cost of inefficient manual leave administration and compliance risks.
- Treat leave vendors as strategic partners, not just providers. Modernize leave equity – parental, caregiver, menopause and bereavement programs – to reduce risk and strengthen retention.
- View leave as both a compliance obligation and cultural investment for engagement and talent retention
A Partner in Talent Solutions and Talent Retention
NFP can be a strategic partner that helps you enrich your company culture, increase your employee engagement and avoid workforce burnout and job-hugging. While employees may not be actively leaving your workplace for a variety of reasons, we can help you make sure they’re not limited by their role, workplace morale is increased, employees know they’re backed and supported by their employer and their desire to stay is not solely because they can’t find a role elsewhere.
We take a personalized approach to help you achieve such positive outcomes. NFP gets to know your business, its pain points, and goals first. With these things motivating the core of our approach, we offer tailored solutions, critical benchmarking data and tools to help you with your workforce planning and improve your overall company culture.
