Is Career Cushioning Over-Powering Quiet Quitting?

Well, just like most other cropping-up vocabs over 2022, career cushioning, too, isn’t anything new.

Its basically a romanticized concept where a lover always keeps their backup option intact while being in an existent relationship, in case of ‘mishaps’ like breakup or cheating. Now in this huge uncertainty of organizational realm, career cushioning is originating sheer out of employee fear of being layed off anytime! It’s when employees keep looking for backup jobs while working in one organization; in case they are being asked not to come to the office the very next day!

In this era of ever-evolving concepts in the organizational realm, the term career cushioning is actually more evolved version of ‘quiet quitting,’ where employees quietly looked for jobs, and after having received their salaries they used to exit or serve a notice.

Seriously times are rapidly in change mode to an extent that one trend pops in and another stands in a row counter it.

So apparently, neither there is any new concept nor is any new reaction to fear of employees, the only difference is that there is an increasing percentage of people opting for career cushioning over the ones quietly looking for jobs and leaving present organizations.?I think I speak for most of us when I say we could all benefit from an extra plush cushion to fall back on if the unexpected arises.?If the companies suddenly feel that in the rush of recession looming over them, laying off in the name of cost cutting is the only solution to sustain, then the employees too should be given full leverage to be ready with their “PLAN B” always. After all the severance payout is being provided by a handful of companies only and the employees get piled up by daily expenses irrespective of the fact that they have been laid off.

Career cushioning is about one thing: preparing for the worst so one won’t be blindsided. Since companies across the globe are hiring based on skills rather than credentials, upskilling must be the focus. While it given employers a wave of relation by investing in upskilling their employee base, but employees are always in the win-win situation as extra skills get added to their resume to opt for next jump.

I am a firm believer of the fact that with tech companies slashing jobs in an uncertain 2023 economy, career cushioning allows people to feel in control during economic uncertainty. Also, the present economic landscape can scare some into being concerned about a post-pandemic firing spree.

“A lot of people feel that looking for another job while already employed is cheating on a company, which I find insane,” career strategist Abbie Martin?told Bloomberg.?But she reminds career cushioners to be ethical. “Maybe do your research on lunch break.”

“Employees on Wall St., whose firms began doing anytime/any-reason layoffs in the ’80s, have been ‘career cushioning’ ever since. It’s just tit for tat.”

One can also try out a side hustle that makes you feel like you have autonomy and provide a small income during the worst times, if any.

?So, what are your thoughts on the same? How ethical you feel this practice is and should be! Do you think such practices to be legalized so that no ruckus is created over exercising such policies?