U.S. workers choose ‘Great Stay’ amid 2026 job fears: MyPerfectResume

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — American workers are broadly opting for job stability over career advancement in 2026, a new survey reveals. 

MyPerfectResume, a career services website, conducted a survey in October 2025. It surveyed 1,000 working American adults, whose demographic distribution was balanced across age, sex, and educational level. 

According to the data, this “Great Stay” is driven by acute concerns over economic instability, potential layoffs, and rising burnout, leading 65% of employees to have no plans to seek a new job in the coming year.

Economic anxiety freezes job moves

Survey research shows that nearly 49% of total employees believe the labor market will deteriorate in 2026, a significant increase from 34% a year ago. 

What is more, both fear of a recession (80%) and fear of losing their own job (32%) are top priorities, indicating a preference for a secure rather than an opportunity-driven environment.

The report notes, “Financial stress and macroeconomic uncertainty continue to suppress mobility and ambition. Workers are not planning for a rebound; they are preparing for turbulence.”

This economic pressure directly converts into frozen career mobility. As concerns about inflation and the cost of living grow, 38% of respondents reported this as their greatest concern. Additionally, 42% of respondents expect to be laid off at their own companies, so the perceived risk of changing jobs outweighs the perceived rewards. 

As a result, workers are preparing to endure economic uncertainty and wait in stasis rather than exploit opportunity, a fundamental change in the talent market that puts businesses in the position of dealing with a less dynamic workforce.

Burnout, stagnation sap ambition and mobility

In tandem with economic anxiety is an acute loss of staff welfare and motivation to grow, which adds to the tendency to remain. The issue of burnout is acute and growing rapidly, with 17% of employees saying that mental well-being and fatigue will be their significant concerns by 2026.  

The primary causes of this burnout, which are anticipated to worsen it, are increased work (31%), lack of work-life balance (24%), and job insecurity (23%), indicating that the stress is not alleviating. 

This atmosphere kills professional growth and promotions. Although half of the workers state that they plan to engage in upskilling, only a very small fraction have actually been involved in training, indicating that burnout is killing the desire to act. 

At the same time, ambition has not strengthened, and 65% of them are not job-hunting. The most common reasons to stay are economic uncertainty (14%) and the belief that there are no better options (11%).

The attitude of the working population towards work has shifted towards getting ahead and getting on, presenting a challenge for employers who can no longer rely on natural turnover to renew teams.

The report suggests that “employers cannot rely on turnover to refresh teams; engagement and development must become intentional priorities.”

Why workers stay in their current jobs

Although employees are showing significant anxiety about the economy and their health, one aspect of workplace tension has deflated significantly: the discussion of returning to work. 

The poll suggests that the hybrid work arrangement has reached a steady compromise, and attention can be diverted to more critical issues of survival mode. Workers currently anticipate more mandates to return to the office (RTO) in 2026, by only 49%, compared to 88% in 2025.

This stabilization in workplace logistics contrasts sharply with the overall climate of caution. The easing of RTO anxiety suggests that, after years of adjustment, a sustainable balance has been found for many. 

Nevertheless, this sense of stability is marred by the broader picture of the so-called “Great Stay,” where the working population is opting for security over ambition, stability over adventure, and tranquility over career advancement in the face of the essential dangers of joblessness, inflation, and burnout.

For employers, the report finds that transparency, career development, burnout, and job security will be important in establishing a workforce in survival mode.

This collective retreat into professional caution signals a profound, potentially long-term recalibration of the American workforce, where risk aversion stifles dynamism and challenges employers to fuel growth from within a stagnant talent pool.