July 21, 2026
Workplace ‘Situationships’: 59% of Employees See No Long-Term Future With Their Employer
Situationships may no longer be confined to romantic relationships. A recent study from Zety suggests the era of ‘workplace situationships’ is upon us, with employee-employer relationships feeling more casual than committed.
Over half (59%) of the 1,000 US workers surveyed don’t see a clear, long-term path with their current organisation, and nearly two-thirds (63%) don’t believe their employer wants to retain them long-term.
According to the report, financial strain and an unstable labour market are the main catalysts driving these dynamics: mixed signals, a lack of dedication, and staying put despite being unhappy.
How Employees View Their Relationship With Work: ‘It’s Complicated’
When asked to define their work relationship, a third (32%) of respondents say it’s casual, 15% are actively looking to leave, and 12% say the situation is ‘complicated’, meaning they are unsatisfied but sticking around.
This points to a workforce that isn’t investing in a long-term future with its employer, but is either satisfied for the short term or ready to jump ship once the job market stabilises or a better opportunity comes along.
The Feeling Is Mutual
Employees believe the lack of commitment runs both ways. The majority (63%) of employees also don’t believe their employer is truly loyal to them as a worker. A third believe their organisation is ‘somewhat committed’ to them but think they could be replaced, while 16% do not feel their employer is invested in keeping them at all.
Zety positions this as a “standoff where nobody wants to be the first one to commit.” Arguably, that framing puts the onus on either party to move first, when research shows the importance of employers building a psychologically safe environment to enable employees to perform at their best and feel like they belong.
The Signs of a Workplace Situationship
There are few surprises in what turns jobs into situationships. A third (32%) of respondents cite limited growth opportunities, while a quarter (23%) feel unfulfilled or frustrated. Poor manager relationships are a problem for around a fifth of respondents.
The data suggests employers aren’t sending a clear enough message that people have a long-term future at the company, through career development pathways, coaching, learning opportunities, and good managerial support.
Most employees surveyed aren’t staying because they feel fulfilled or invested in. Financial stability (60%), comfort (47%), benefits (40%), and flexibility (35%) are the top reasons for staying despite a lack of dedication to the job. Zety sums it up as a ‘marriage of convenience’ that persists while the economy remains unstable.
Retention Alone Isn’t the Right Metric
Zety’s data adds to growing evidence that people are staying in their jobs out of fear rather than choice. ‘Work situationships’ is another term, alongside ‘job hugging‘, for the same underlying problem: employees staying because of external pressure (economic uncertainty and a tepid labour market) rather than internal motivation (career prospects and genuine engagement).
A study last year found 75% of ‘job huggers’ plan to stay put until 2027. Gartner HR data adds to the picture: job offer acceptance rates have fallen from 85% two years ago to just 48% now, as more employees choose to stay put even when better offers are on the table.
For HR and EX leaders, both job hugging and work situationships represent a disengagement risk that can hide behind seemingly healthy retention data. Without looking deeper into why employees are staying, top-line retention figures can read as stability when the underlying picture is less rosy.
The Picture Is More Complex on the Frontline
Frontline organisations, particularly in retail, appear especially exposed, though the reasons are more complex. Recent research from Perceptyx finds that almost half of retail employees are actively job hunting, yet 70% of individual contributors intend to stay for at least the next 12 months. Perceptyx calls this ‘conditional commitment’, and says it isn’t driven primarily by a lack of career or development opportunities.
For frontline staff, the issues are more immediate. More than half point to high operational demands, leading to poor decision-making and avoidable failures, as a key pain point and disengagement driver.
None of this shows up cleanly in a retention dashboard. For EX leaders, the takeaway is that presence isn’t the same as commitment, and a workforce that stays without believing in the relationship is a business risk in waiting, one that surfaces first in service quality and customer experience, not headcount.
