Job Hugging in Real Estate: A Data Driven Insight into Why Mobility Slowed Down

The post pandemic job hopping has slowed. Now, more people than ever are staying put, even when their patience is wearing thin. Our research tells a nuanced story of caution, opportunity, and a labour market that is steady rather than fast moving.

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The end of job hopping

Across real estate, the churn of 2021-22 has waned. Our latest Salary, Rewards & Sentiments Report shows a workforce that is simultaneously more dissatisfied and more static. Globally, the share of professionals who feel valued fell from 59% in 2025 to 49% in 2026. In the UK the figure is 53%, in the US 44%, and in Asia Pacific 46%. Sentiment is moving downwards, not sideways.

Yet the behaviour does not match the mood. Internationally, more than half say they intend to move jobs (52%), but mobility is restrained in the hardest hit markets. Amongst which the UK stands out: professionals there are least likely to move, with 60% who are unlikely or very unlikely to switch roles in the coming year.

By contrast, the US, the Middle East and South Africa display far stronger appetite for change, with South Africa particularly striking: 42% say they are very likely to move.

The question for employers and candidates is not whether people want to move (clearly, many do) but why so many are choosing not to.

A downturned market

In the UK, the explanation begins with supply and demand. According to ONS data, vacancies fell for a while before stabilising around 723,000 in the August–October 2025 period, and the unemployed‑per‑vacancy ratio climbed to 2.5. That is not a collapse, but it is a notable decrease from the earlier half of this decade. This has clearly dampened confidence in job switching.

In the US, the formal quit rate tells a related tale. The recent Indeed Hiring Lab’s October 2025 JOLTS Report shows the quitting rate drifting down to 1.8% by October 2025, a level not seen (outside the initial pandemic shock) since the mid‑2010s. Analysts have dubbed it a “low‑fire, low‑hire” equilibrium. Employers are not reducing their numbers of staff, but they are becoming more selective about adding new ones. This naturally suppresses churn.

Across Asia Pacific, market conditions are improving, but not uniformly. According to the 2025 CBRE outlook, the region is being shaped by a mix of diverging forces. Office leasing is showing modest improvement, logistics markets are stabilising, and investment activity is expected to rise, but these trends are not consistent across the region. They are strongest in only a handful of markets such as Japan, Singapore and Korea. Those conditions support targeted hiring rather than a widespread recruitment drive.

The macro backdrop is important. It shows that while the market has cooled, opportunities have not completely disappeared.

Dissatisfaction without departure

Our latest research isolates the main reasons why professionals feel undervalued. Globally, the leading causes are salary at 24%, limited progression (22%), and company culture (20%). In the UK, those factors are almost evenly weighted, followed closely by recognition at 16%. Employers can no longer show value through a payslip; it needs to be demonstrated through a combination of pay, purpose and progression.

Demographic differences matter too. Women and ethnic minority professionals in the UK are less likely to report feeling valued, particularly at senior levels.

And yet, even armed with this discontent, and with the knowledge that changing employer remains the most reliable route to a substantial pay rise, many professionals stay put. Our research analysis on the reasons for pay rises is very clear. Moving employers delivers a 23.5% uplift on average, compared to 20% for internal promotion and 7% via annual review. If money is the main motivator, moving wins.

So, why the hesitation?

We cannot look at individual incentives to move in a vacuum, without looking at the broader systemic frictions. Here are some examples from the last year:

• In the UK, there have been fewer vacancies and a higher unemployment-to-vacancy ratio. This raises the stakes of making the wrong move. Fewer vacancies reduce optionality, making staying put appear like the only option.
• In the US, lower quit rate and selective hiring sends a signal to job seekers: there are opportunities, yes, but they aren’t everywhere and they are definitely not for everyone at once.
• In Asia Pacific, hiring is present but disciplined. Mobility is possible if you are in the right city or in the right sub-sector of the market, but what about for most? Staying seems less risky than relocating or repositioning.

Another factor contributing to this dynamic is the shift in flexibility. What was once abundant is now declining rapidly. The share of professionals working in hybrid / flexible arrangements has fallen from 92% to 71%, and more than half say that additional office days would negatively affect them – with UK employees, women and mid-level employees most likely to feel the strain.

When flexibility is already diminishing in the current role, a new opportunity that offers no improvement (or worse, offers less flexibility) rarely feels worthwhile. In these circumstances, the hesitation is understandable. Flexibility therefore becomes a decisive factor in mobility decision, not just a secondary preference.

Regional contrasts

UK

Viewed through this lens, UK’s low rate of movement looks rational. Our data’s regional breakdown shows that 60% of UK respondents classify themselves as unlikely to move, even though 53% say they feel valued at work. These results are not contradictory. Some respondents attributed their reluctance to the current job market. In other words, staying is often the reflection of market scarcity, not job satisfaction.

Policy and financing conditions have contributed to the hesitation. The Bank of England lowered interest rates to 3.75% in December 2025, but they’re still not as low as they were in the mid-2010s. Since borrowing is still fairly expensive, companies are careful about starting new projects and cautious about hiring more people.

On the occupier and investor side, sentiment is split. RICS reported a cautious improvement in early‑2025 but a weaker Q3 trend in tenant demand and more incentives offered to attract occupiers. This is an environment where prime London assets and certain alternatives (data centres, BTR, life sciences) outperform, while secondary sectors like office/retail underwhelm. Employers respond to that division by hiring carefully, not expansively.

The pattern is consistent with previous British cycles. When the market conditions tighten, people wait. This does not mean the appetite for change disappears. Because moving jobs typically offer the largest salary gains (around 20% on average for the UK), professionals are often ready to act as soon as market conditions improve.

This period of low mobility could reflect deferred movement, not a permanent shift in behaviour.

United States

Recent U.S. data shows that job mobility is lower than headlines imply. Job openings fluctuated in late 2025, but the quits rate remained close to 1.8%, indicating a labour market that is neither strongly expansionary nor contracting.

In real estate, performance varies by segment. Prime office space in major markets, industrial and logistics assets, and certain areas of the living sector (particularly senior housing and student accommodation) continue to show steady activity, whereas secondary offices remain under pressure. This combination supports selective hiring, focused on high performing areas. This is similar to what is seen in Asia Pacific.

The financial environment reinforces this finding. The CRE refinancing faced a wall in 2025, particularly for office and hotel loans, led lenders and borrowers, encouraging them to adopt a more cautious approach. Forecasts pointed to areas of distress and tighter underwriting standards, which naturally slows new hiring, at least until the refinancing outcomes become clearer.

It’s not surprising that many professionals are pursuing internal progression over taking on the uncertainty of an external move, even when they often offer higher pay uplift.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is best understood as several labour markets rather than one. The 2025 CBRE outlook anticipated modest improvements in leasing and a 5–10% rise in transaction volumes, with Japan, Singapore, Korea and (on a selective basis) Hong Kong SAR leading the way.

For candidates, the job market isn’t growing everywhere at once. Instead of lots of companies hiring at the same time, most are only hiring in certain places or for certain types of roles. Hence the mixed picture demonstrated by the data: 35% of people say they’re unlikely to move, 33% say they might, and 21% say they’re very likely to move. It reflects a region where opportunities exist, but not for everyone or in every city.

People also feel undervalued for similar reasons across the region: salary (23%), career growth (21%), company culture (21%), and recognition (21%) all matter. This means many do want better jobs. Whether they can actually make a move depends on where they live, the sector they work in, and the quality of roles available in that area. In some places, those conditions line up; in others, they don’t.

MENA and South Africa

Where mobility intends to run hotter is the Middle East and South Africa. In MENA, 30% are very likely to move; in South Africa it is 42% – the highest “very likely” share among the regions in your dataset. Both markets exhibit push‑and‑pull dynamics: rapid sectoral shifts and expansion on the pull side; salary, progression and (in MENA) managerial relationship factors on the push side. For global employers, these are the regions where mobility plans may turn into reality first.

The new threshold for changing jobs

It is tempting to declare that the era of job hugging is over. That would be premature.

The data show a global workforce that is keen to move, constrained by market conditions and hesitation. It also shows a workforce that feels less valued and can do the maths. Changing employer remains the single most effective path to a double digit pay rise.

What has changed is the criteria for making a move. With flexibility receding (71% flexible working vs 92% a year ago) and hiring becoming more selective, the next role must be demonstrably better across pay, progression and culture to justify the jump. Otherwise, the rational choice, especially in the UK, is to wait.

Signals that could increase mobility

Three shifts would likely close the gap between intent and movement:

1. A more predictable and lower financing costs
   If borrowing costs continue to fall and transaction activity picks up, companies are likely to resume hiring at a healthier pace. Lower funding costs typically make more projects viable, which increases demand for talent.
2. Greater clarity in the office market
   Hiring decisions in real estate often track the performance of the office sector. As the divide between prime and secondary offices becomes clearer, and older or unviable buildings are repurposed, companies gain better visibility over future leasing conditions. Recent RICS survey shows early signs of stabilisation in prime offices, while secondary assets still require incentives to attract tenants. A more decisive resolution of this split would give employers more confidence to expand teams.
3. Stable expectations around hybrid work
   If employers move towards consistent and predictable hybrid policies, rather than increasing mandatory office requirements, candidates can properly weigh flexibility when comparing roles. Currently, shifting policies encourage many employees to stay put, as the risk of losing flexibility feels too high.

Why does this matter for employers

The data on why employees feel undervalued provides a helpful blueprint for retention in a cool market:

• Salary: benchmark realistically, competitive pay is still essential in attracting and retaining top talent.
• Progression: map explicit promotion pathways. Lack of progression is the second largest driver of feeling undervalued.
• Culture & recognition: these are not soft embellishment; they are top three reasons people feel undervalued globally and in the UK.

For hiring managers, the lesson is straightforward: in an environment where job hugging is the norm, fewer but better offers will win.

What does mobility look like for job seekers

Changing jobs in 2026 is sensible when three conditions align:

• Clear evidence of demand: There should be confirmed work to do: active mandates, a visible project pipeline, and an approved budget, rather than vague assurance.
• Meaningful improvements: The new role should offer a real step up in pay, career progression, and the working model (including flexibility).
• Risk mitigation: Safeguards such as a sign‑on payment to compensate for a lost bonus, or a structured onboarding and review plan, help reduce uncertainty.

The financial case for moving is strong, given that it usually delivers the highest average pay uplift. But the market logic must also hold – the role needs to be clearly better, not just different.

Final thoughts

Job hugging is not a trend that appeared out of thin air. It is a reflection of a labour market shaped by fewer vacancies, stricter hiring criteria and less predictable flexibility policies – conditions that naturally limit movement, even when dissatisfaction rises.

People aren’t standing still because they lack ambition; they are waiting for conditions that justify the risk of moving.

As financing, sector performance and workplace norms stabilise, the gap between wanting to move and actually moving will narrow. Some regions will adjust quickly, others more gradually, but the underlying appetite for better pay, progression and working conditions remains strong.

For now, whether you’re a job seeker or an employer, the advantage lies in preparation. Understand market benchmarks, watch the indicators that shape hiring cycles, and be ready to act when a better opportunity appears.

Staying put may be common is this phase, but it shouldn’t mean standing still.