‘Job-Hugging’ Emerges as New Workplace Reality Amid Rising Productivity

| Written by Riya Malhotra

A new global study by Intellect points to the rise of “job-hugging,” a trend where employees are choosing to stay in their roles for stability, even as engagement levels lag behind improvements in productivity and wellbeing.

According to the latest Workplace Wellbeing 360 Report, organisations are seeing encouraging gains. Mental wellbeing scores recorded their strongest year-on-year increase, alongside a steady rise in productivity. However, employee engagement has not kept pace, signalling a shift in how individuals are relating to work.

The report, based on responses from more than 27,000 employees across 160 countries, highlights the emergence of “functional disengagement.” In this scenario, employees continue to meet expectations and deliver results, but are less inclined to go beyond their defined roles.

In Asia-Pacific, this pattern is more pronounced, with engagement levels dipping slightly despite improved output.

Theodoric Chew, CEO & Co-Founder, Intellect, noted that this creates a “retention illusion,” where stable headcounts may give the impression of a fully engaged workforce, even as employee expectations evolve. The findings also underline that engagement today is shaped less by policy and more by personal drivers such as optimism and a sense of contribution.

As workplaces continue to invest in wellbeing, the report highlights an important shift: sustaining performance will increasingly depend on creating environments where employees feel both supported and meaningfully involved in their work.

Source: ETHRWorld