HR explained the growing trend of "holding on to a job at all costs" in the labor market

Russian employees are increasingly opting for stability and predictability rather than rapid career growth. One of the notable trends in the labor market is becoming a strategy in which employees prefer to stay at their current place of work due to market uncertainty and risk aversion. Valentina Romanova, HR Director of Level Group, told Izvestia about this on June 5.

According to the expert, today employees are not so much abandoning professional development as they are beginning to appreciate more understandable working conditions, stable income and transparent career prospects within the company. At the same time, maintaining the current position is often associated not with high engagement, but with caution and a desire to avoid risks.

"The most inclined to the strategy of "holding on to work at all costs" are mid- and high-level specialists who have already accumulated experience and a stable income. For them, a change of employer is more often perceived as a potential threat rather than an opportunity for growth. At the same time, young professionals and interns still consider job changes as a natural way to find their professional path," the specialist explained.

As Romanova noted, the spread of such a pattern of behavior can lead to a slowdown in personnel updates and make it more difficult to close new vacancies. Companies risk facing a situation where staff remains stable, but the development of competencies and the influx of new specialists are beginning to slow down.

Over the past year, the applicants themselves have changed. According to the HR expert, they have become more pragmatic and more often focus on the possibility of gaining new experience, developing skills and flexibility in the work format. Remote and hybrid employment, project work, and collaboration with several employers are becoming increasingly popular. At the same time, there is a growing interest in developing a personal brand and self-employment.

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Previously, the labor market was dominated by the trend of frequent changes of employers for the sake of career growth and increased income, but now many professionals prefer to stay in their current positions longer. The reason is not so much loyalty to the company, but rather a more cautious attitude towards changes against the background of a cooling labor market.

Among the most effective tools for staff retention, the expert highlighted transparent career paths, participation in cross-functional projects, training and mentoring programs, as well as competitive remuneration and a culture of recognition of employees' achievements. In her opinion, it is important for modern employees to understand how their contribution affects the company's results and what development opportunities are available within the organization.

In the next two to three years, the labor market will continue to change towards greater flexibility. According to Romanova's forecast, the share of project employment and hybrid work formats will grow, and specialists will have to regularly update their competencies, master new technologies, including artificial intelligence tools, and be ready for retraining. Changing professions and educational track will gradually become a common practice for those who seek to remain in demand in the market.

Daria Serebryakova, a clinical psychologist and deputy head of the rehabilitation program at Dr. Isaev's Clinic, said on May 20 that if a boss behaves in a toxic way at work, then first of all you need to look at your official duties, employment contract, chain of command and job requirements. If we are talking about gross violations, such as psychological violence and humiliation, we can use organizational or legal means of protection.