Low turnover is a crisis, not a culture win. 92,000 jobs lost in February. The trend line's been pointing down for months, and many of you have been living the realities directly.
Workers are stuck in what economists are calling "the Great Stay." They aren’t sticking around out of loyalty; they are sticking around out of paralysis. The quit rate just dropped below 2% for the first time since June 2020. People aren't leaving because they can't afford to.
Anxiety and exhaustion in society lead to anxiety and exhaustion in the workplace.
And the data is telling the story: → Average time to find a new job: 24.5 weeks. Four-year high. → Only 21% of employees are engaged at work. → 81% report anxiety about job loss. → 62% globally are disengaged—and that number just grew by 2 points. → Gig work is up. Benefits are down. Wages are compressed for 99% of workers. → AI layoff myth is being perpetuated but not supported by data.
The markets aren't reflecting the reality of everyday workers, despite the headlines. And the effect is that people are bringing that weight into the workplace. Every day.
The realities of the job market mean that employees aren't leaving. But it’s not loyalty, it's paralysis. Gallup is calling it the Great Detachment. Employees are checked out, stuck, watching for the first exit that feels safe.
Organizations aren't seeing healthy attrition. Retirements, promotions, pivots, and new workers entering the pipeline are slowing to a halt. What’s left are organizations running on the backs of people who are exhausted, anxious, and increasingly disengaged.
For organizations, this is not the time to abandon workers. It isn't the time to pull back on culture, belonging, and psychological safety. It's the only thing keeping your employees showing up, and when your employees show up, they innovate, they produce, and your organization doesn’t just survive, it thrives.