Job Hugging: Why Gen Z Is Holding on to Jobs It Does Not Love

Owl Labs released its tenth annual State of Hybrid Work Report in London on September 23, 2026, and its UK findings point to a workforce that has stopped treating quitting as the answer. The report draws on an online survey of 2,014 full-time employees fielded in July 2026 by Vitreous World, part of a global survey of more than eight thousand workers. Its headline trend is job hugging: 35% of UK workers say they have held on to a job even though they feel unfulfilled, and the share rises to 43% among Gen Z, which makes the job hugging trend strongest where job mobility was expected to be highest.

The finding cuts against the job-hopping reputation Gen Z has earned, but job hugging is what the new numbers actually describe. Earlier this month, a Robert Half survey found 55% of Gen Z professionals planned to look for a new job by the end of the year, a restlessness covered here earlier. The Owl Labs data adds the other half of the picture: many workers want out, but they are staying anyway. According to the report, job hugging means remaining in a current job despite feeling unfulfilled, and it is now more common among young workers than any other age group.

Job hugging and the pullback on effort

Job hugging sits alongside another trend the report tracks: work-to-rule, doing only what is outlined in a job description. 38% of respondents say they have participated, rising to 47% of Gen Z and 42% of millennials. Both describe people who stay in their jobs while holding something back. When asked about their biggest concerns at work, respondents put a lack of career progression first at 44%, followed by job stability worries at 40%, with a lack of flexibility and being forced into the office full time close behind.

Billboard days turn office attendance into strategy

Then there are billboard days: choosing in-office days specifically to be seen by senior leaders or clients. 30% of UK workers say they have done this, rising to 36% of men compared with 25% of women. Like job hugging, billboard days are a strategy for workers who stay rather than leave. The behavior matches what employees believe about return-to-office mandates: 73% say the central motivation is leadership oversight and visibility, down slightly from 78% the year before.

Workplace policies are still shifting. 31% say their employer changed its remote or hybrid policy in the last year, compared with 24% in 2025. And the share who would start looking for a new role if flexibility were taken away has risen since last year. Others have found their own workaround: ghost working, cramming work into the night so the daytime stays free, has been tried by 29% of respondents.

AI is everywhere, and so is the worry it brings

AI use is now close to universal across the UK workforce. 86% of employees say they use it at work, and 27% use it daily. A quarter of AI users rely on tools their employer has not officially approved, a practice known as shadow AI, and that rises to 32% among Gen Z.

Most workers see upside: 68% say AI has made them more productive, and a majority say AI skills improve their chances of promotion. But 57% say AI has raised expectations about how much they should complete in a day. And 39% worry the technology will eventually render their role obsolete, with the worry running highest among Gen Z. The job hugging numbers sit next to this unease: the generation most worried about AI is also the one most likely to stay put. The pattern fits a broader 2026 labor market story in which AI has quietly become the default hiring filter, and workers value the tools while worrying about them at the same time.

What would actually get people into the office

Job hugging may not be permanent, though. 92% say the right incentives would bring them in more often. The most common asks are improved compensation, the freedom to choose their in-office days, and an employer-subsidised commute. 60% would prefer to work in a hybrid model, with 11% seeking a fully remote arrangement.

Stress, monitoring and the meeting tax

The strain is measurable. More than a third of respondents say their work-related stress has increased since last year, and 37% describe themselves as disengaged at work, driven by burnout, a lack of growth opportunities and not feeling valued. Burnout affects women more than men, according to the survey.

Trust is fraying as well. 59% say their employer uses some form of monitoring software, most commonly tracking login and logout times, and 82% believe employers should be legally required to disclose when they are using such tools. Meeting fatigue affects 41% of workers, driven largely by meetings that run too long, which 54% cite. The most common hybrid-meeting complaints are technical difficulties, not being able to hear everyone, cited by 70%, and audio echo or distortion, cited by 69%. The "meeting tax", the time lost getting hybrid meetings started, has at least shrunk, dropping from 6.5 minutes to 5.9 minutes since last year.

Owl Labs chief executive Frank Weishaupt said the pressure that comes with rising expectations is starting to show in the company's data, and that doubling down on employee experience, including better technology, will be a key part of employers keeping their best people. Fixing meetings is an effective lever employers can pull quickly, he added, but genuine flexibility is the longer-term strategy for closing the engagement gap. The full State of Hybrid Work 2026 report is published by Owl Labs, whose original announcement carries the complete findings.

For now, job hugging is how the report describes a generation that wants more from work but is staying put.