The Great Stay: Why US workers are choosing stability over risk in 2026

Something subtle is happening in the US job market. Not the kind that makes headlines with mass exits or viral resignations. This shift is quieter and more revealing. After years of layoffs, inflation shocks, and workplace whiplash, workers are no longer chasing what’s next. They’re holding on to what they have.A new national survey from MyPerfectResume, titled “The Great Stay: 2026 State of the Labor Market,” captures this mood with uncomfortable clarity. Panic may have cooled since 2025, but anxiety hasn’t gone anywhere. It has simply settled into the background, shaping decisions in quieter ways. One in three workers, 32%, say they fear losing their job in 2026. Nearly six in ten expect layoffs to rise across the country. And almost half believe the labor market will get worse, not better, in the year ahead. That pessimism is notably sharper than last year, when just over a third felt the same way. This is not a workforce frozen by fear. It is a workforce making calculations.Perhaps the most telling number in the survey is this: 65% of workers say they do not plan to look for a new job in 2026.That figure cuts through years of talk about job hopping and career agility. Workers are staying put, not because they are wildly satisfied, but because the risk of moving feels higher than the reward.Some cite contentment with their current pay or role. Others point to economic uncertainty. A meaningful share says they simply don’t believe better opportunities are out there right now. The message is consistent: Switching jobs no longer feels like a smart bet.This mirrors what the workforce said in 2025, suggesting the “Great Stay” is no longer a phase. It is becoming a pattern.Even without fresh waves of mass firings, the fear of layoffs remains embedded in workplace psychology. Forty-two percent of workers believe layoffs are likely at their own company next year. Fifty-nine percent expect job cuts to increase nationwide. More than half anticipate business closures. And eight in ten worry about a recession.The result is a strange emotional mix. Workers aren’t panicking, but they’re not relaxed either. They are preparing for disruption while hoping it doesn’t arrive.Burnout, once again, looms large. Half of workers expect burnout to worsen in 2026. But what’s driving it has shifted. Job insecurity, while still present, is no longer the dominant stressor. Increased workload now leads the list, followed closely by poor work-life balance and dysfunctional workplace cultures.In other words, even those who feel relatively secure are being worn down. The pressure isn’t coming from the threat of being let go, it’s coming from being asked to do more, with less room to breathe.Workers are staying. They are just getting tired while doing so.There is no shortage of awareness about the need to adapt. More than half of workers say they are open to upskilling. A similar share is open to freelance or gig work as a backup plan.But interest does not equal momentum. The survey suggests many workers are stuck between knowing what they should do and having the energy, or financial cushion, to do it. After years of instability, preparation itself feels exhausting.Return-to-office fears have also softened. Last year, almost everyone expected stricter office mandates. This time, fewer than half do. Most workers now believe hybrid work policies will remain largely unchanged, suggesting the turbulence around where work happens may finally be settling. It’s not a victory. It’s a ceasefire.When asked to name their biggest concerns for 2026, workers didn’t talk about promotions or titles. They talked about survival.Inflation and the cost of living top the list. Burnout and mental health follow. Then comes the fear of not finding another job if things fall apart. Salary stagnation lingers close behind. These are not the worries of an ambitious workforce. They are the worries of a cautious one.The MyPerfectResume survey, conducted in October 2025 among 1,000 employed US adults, captures a labor market defined less by movement and more by restraint.The Great Resignation was loud. The Great Stay is quiet. Workers aren’t giving up. They are bracing themselves. They are choosing stability, even if it means standing still, because in today’s economy, standing still feels safer than stepping into the unknown. And as 2026 approaches, that instinct, more than any corporate policy, may shape the future of work.