SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): After more than two years in his role at TikTok, Mike (not his real name) feels trapped.

What seemed like a perfect mid-career pivot into a high-paying role in the tech sector has become increasingly intolerable. He says layoffs and restructuring exercises now happen around him at an “almost quarterly” pace.

“I’ve been feeling extremely stretched and disengaged with the work,” says the Singaporean in his 30s, who spoke under condition of anonymity out of concern it would hurt his career prospects.

“Yet, I know if I find a new role now, I’d be the first person to be laid off, as the least experienced hire,” he adds. He anticipates a downturn in 2026.

Shifting compensation and biannual performance reviews complicate the maths around leaving. These reviews come with the opportunity for bonuses and raises, adding another incentive to stick around for just a little longer.

However, though his bonuses used to be paid in cash, they now come as a mix of cash and restricted stock units (RSUs). This means conversion to actual shares or cash comes only after a vesting period or after certain milestones are met.

“If other opportunities were more certain, I might be willing to give up the RSUs, but it’s too much of a risk,” he says.

This is the experience that Mike and other workers like him call “job hugging” – sticking around in a job mostly out of fear, rather than loyalty.

The term has taken on new-found popularity in 2025, as a buzzword coined by consulting firms and adopted by social media users to explain their current career anxieties.

Recruiters and experts speaking to The Straits Times say that job hugging is more than just a feeling, as there appears to have been a noticeable shi