Quiet quitting is out. Career cushioning is in.
The newest workplace trend refers to creating a soft place to land in case you’re let go from a job, usually by looking for other employment while still employed at the current job or subtilely seeking side gigs.
“It’s a response to this trend we are seeing globally where professionals are trying to brace themselves to counter the challenges of an economic downturn,” LinkedIn work expert Cayla Dengate explained in Yahoo.com interview. “
“There is this sense of anxiety about future-proofing your role and making sure that if you don’t hang onto your job, there will be another one in the works.”
As news of mass layoffs sweep the workforce, it’s unsurprising that employees are keen to put safeguards in place. In the tech industry alone, there have been nearly 90,000 layoffs this year with more slated to happen by Q1 2023.
Wrapping a safety net around jobs aren’t a new concept by a long shot, but experts are seeing an uptick in career cushioning in response to the economy’s precarious state.
In Australia, for example, a recent workplace survey found that more than half of its participants shared they were “cushioning” their careers by brushing up on new skills in the event of a layoff.
Their concern may be warranted as companies like Apple and Meta announced their deployment of hiring freezes through next year.
So, how do you career cushion?
Apparently, it’s all about staying abreast of the most in-demand skills and wrapping them into your credential set. That can start with checking platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed to gauge what employers are looking for.