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According to a new study, job seekers aren’t earning enough to keep up with inflation, but many are afraid to quit because of a looming recession.

‘Quiet quitting’ isn’t the problem. Exhausted workers are just too afraid to leave their jobs

[Source Photo: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels]

BY Shalene Gupta1 minute read

Inflation rose by 9% this June as salaries increased by only 5%. Meanwhile, the housing market is down and employees everywhere are taking stock of their wallets and budgets. Joblist, an AI-powered job search platform, conducted a study of 19,000 job seekers across the United States to get their thoughts on the current job market, along with their hopes and fears. Below are the key findings from the survey: 

  • Inflation hurts: 53% of employees have not received a pay raise so far in 2022, despite record inflation rates. Many job seekers are considering other measures, including switching industries (28%) and getting a second job (25%). 
  • Burnout, not quiet quitting, is the problem: 49% of employees say that they feel burned out, but 50% are working just as hard and 41% are working harder. Only 9% say they are working less than they were six months ago, but 27% admit they are less productive than they were in previous years.
  • Employees are afraid the job market is tightening: About 23% of employees report being laid off or someone they know being laid off this year. Meanwhile, in July, 31% of job seekers thought it was easy to get a job, but this dropped to 26% in September. Now, 47% of employees say that concerns about the recession are making them less likely to quit their job.

You can check out the full survey here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shalene Gupta is a frequent contributor to Fast Company, covering Gen Z in the workplace, the psychology of money, and health business news. She is the coauthor of The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It (Public Affairs, 2021) with Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher, and is currently working on a book about severe PMS, PMDD, and PME for Flatiron More


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