AI Has Workers Clinging to Dead-End Jobs

In recent years, the United States saw an influx of workers quitting to pursue better job opportunities. However, the tide has shifted in this new age of artificial intelligence.

A new trend has emerged in the job market: workers clinging to jobs they don’t necessarily love. This phenomenon, dubbed “job hugging,” sees employees staying in their current roles out of fear rather than choice.

Experts note that AI disruption across industries is intensifying this behavior. Workers are job hugging due to hiring uncertainty—not just in today’s job market but even more so in the future.

A recent survey by online resume creation site Resume Builder reveals that nearly half of U.S. workers (45%) admit to job hugging because changing jobs seems too risky.

The majority of these “job huggers” (95%) cite job market uncertainty as their main concern, with 48% describing the job market as “not very good.”

Other key factors driving workers to stay put include fears that AI will make future job hunting harder (77%) and increase the risk of layoffs (59%).

While 84% of these worried workers are putting in effort to protect their jobs from AI disruption, job hugging can have both positive and negative consequences—demanding employees and employers alike to assess the situation properly.

On one hand, staying with a familiar job provides stability. Workers maintain a steady paycheck, avoid the stress of navigating a challenging job market, and keep benefits they might not easily find elsewhere.

However, career experts like Resume Builder’s Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller caution that job hugging offers benefits only in the short term.

The longer workers cling to unsatisfying roles, the more likely they are to experience stunted career growth, limited skill development, and workplace burnout. By choosing security over growth, workers may also find themselves falling behind as industries evolve and new opportunities pass them by.

Despite these nuanced implications of job hugging, workers’ AI-related fears aren’t misplaced.

Amid widespread AI adoption, entry-level employment in sectors like technology has declined significantly.

A new study from Stanford University found a 13% employment decline for early-career workers (ages 22–25) in the most AI-exposed occupations. In software development, for example, young workers experienced a nearly 20% employment decline in July 2025.

The study noted similar trends across other computer professions and customer service roles, as their tasks are frequently considered to be exposed to generative AI tools.

While the Stanford study observed different trends in less AI-exposed industries like healthcare, the fact remains that AI is being implemented—and will continue to be implemented—across workplaces. This impacts both job security and the overall future of the job market.

Fortunately, workers can take actionable steps to safeguard their careers without resorting to job hugging. With support from their current employers, they can invest in upskilling and AI literacy to address layoff fears and enable long-term career growth.

Additionally, our video below breaks down what’s happening to entry-level tech jobs and how early-career professionals can navigate this new playing field.

As job hugging reflects broader anxieties in the job market, employers and employees must work together to reduce uncertainty, thrive in the workplace, and embrace the opportunities that AI can bring.