Job Security Statistics and the Quiet Disengagement of America’s Workforce

On paper, the American workforce looks stable. Quit rates are almost as low as they’ve been in a decade, and most workers are staying put. Employers often interpret this as loyalty.

But the reasons workers are staying in their jobs are more complicated. We’ve been tracking a wave of AI-driven layoffs, a rise in job-hugging as workers cling to their current roles, and years of quiet quitting as engagement slips. We wanted to see exactly how all of these trends connect.

To do that, Founder Reports surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based workers about why they stay in their jobs, how worried they are about AI, and how much effort they’re actually putting in. The goal was to see whether the people staying out of fear are also the people who’ve quietly checked out. The answer is that they are the same people, and the difference between them and workers who stay in their jobs by choice is eye-opening.

👉 Download the full Employee Engagement Report PDF here

Key Job Security and Disengagement Statistics

• 47% of workers say fear of the market is at least part of why they’re staying in their jobs, slightly more than the 45% who stay purely because they want to (the remaining 8% are actively looking for another job).
  
• 70% of workers who stay mainly out of fear say they do their defined job and nothing beyond. Only 38% of workers who stay by choice say the same things about themselves.
  
• 49% say they go above and beyond at their job, and 51% do only what’s required or less.
  
• 36% of workers agree there’s little point in working harder because it won’t protect them from layoffs or AI. Among fear-driven stayers, that figure climbs to 55%.
  
• 39% of workers are at least moderately worried that AI could shrink or eliminate their role.
  
• Workers worried about AI are nearly twice as likely to say effort is pointless (49% versus 27%).
  
• Fear-driven stayers are the most AI-anxious group, as 48% are at least moderately worried about AI.
  
• 57% of individual contributors do only what is required (or less), while only 39% of managers reported the same, despite nearly identical levels of AI worry between the two groups.
  
• The fear-and-disengagement pattern is strongest among workers under 55 and nearly disappears at 55 and older

Most Workers Who Stay Out of Fear Have Already Checked Out

We already know from separate studies that many workers fear losing their jobs to AI, and that a large percentage of workers are disengaged. But studies typically look at one factor or the other. We wanted to see if the people worried about AI are checking out at higher rates. We asked people why they stay, then asked separately how much effort they put in. The two answers line up to show the bigger picture.

Among workers who stay mainly because leaving feels too risky, 70% say they do their defined job and not much beyond that, or they do even less. Among workers who stay because they want to, that figure is just 38%. People held in place by fear have pulled back at nearly twice the rate of people who stay by choice.

The fear-driven group hasn’t stopped working. They’ve stopped going above and beyond. Only 30% of them do more than what’s required of them, compared to 62% of the workers who actually want to be there.

Nearly Half Stay at Least Partly Because Leaving Feels Too Risky

When we asked workers why they stay, the responses broke down like this:

• 45% stay mainly because they want to (the work, the people, or the company)
• 21% stay mainly because leaving feels too risky right now
• 26% say it’s a roughly equal mix of wanting to be there and feeling stuck
• 8% are actively looking for another job

Combine the risk-driven and mixed groups, and 47% of workers say fear of the market is at least part of what keeps them in place. And less than half (45%) of the workforce is staying because they want to.

The Workforce is Split Almost Evenly on Effort

Asked to describe their current approach to work, respondents were split almost down the middle.

• 49% say they always go above and beyond
• 42% do their defined job and not much beyond that
• 8% do only what’s needed to keep their job
• 0.5% admit to putting in less than the job requires

Half the American workforce, by their own account, is doing their defined job and not much more. That’s the definition of quiet quitting.

More Than a Third Say Working Harder Is Pointless

The belief behind the behavior is just as telling. We asked workers whether they agreed that working harder won’t protect them from layoffs or AI, so there’s little point in going above and beyond. 36% agreed or strongly agreed.

That number jumps sharply among workers staying out of fear, where 55% agree that work won’t protect them. For a majority of the trapped group, effort and security are unconnected. They no longer believe one buys the other, and their reduced effort follows directly from that belief.

AI Anxiety Tracks With Giving Up on Effort

AI worry isn’t even across the workforce, and it lines up with how people feel about effort. Among workers at least moderately worried about AI, 49% say there’s little point in working harder. Among those not worried about AI, only 27% feel that way.

The connection is strongest in attitude. Workers anxious about AI are far more likely to feel their effort is futile, even if their day-to-day behavior hasn’t shifted as dramatically. The fear is damaging motivation well before it shows up in output.

The Workers Staying in Their Jobs Out of Fear Are the Most Worried About AI

The fear keeping people in their jobs and the fear of AI seem closely related. Among workers staying out of fear, 48% are at least moderately worried about AI taking their role. Among those who stay by choice, that drops to 32%.

One group stands out even more. Workers actively looking to leave are the most AI-anxious of all, at 58%. For these people, concerns about AI have led them to look for other opportunities.

Managers Stay Engaged While Individual Contributors Pull Back

57% of individual contributors are doing nothing more than what’s required, while managers and leaders sit at 39%. What’s interesting is that managers and individual contributors are equally concerned about AI, at roughly 41% each.

Fear is spread evenly across the org chart, but disengagement isn’t. Individual contributors, who feel the squeeze without any control, are the ones checking out.

Younger Workers Are the Most Concerned

The fear-and-disengagement pattern isn’t the same across different age groups or generations. It’s concentrated among younger and mid-career workers and fades for those nearing the end of their careers.

• Under 35, fear-driven stayers are disengaged at 77% or more
• From 35 to 54, they vary between 70% and 71%
• At 55 and older, only 39% of fear-driven stayers are disengaged, barely above the 31% of choice-driven stayers in that age range

The workers most caught in the trap are the same ones research has flagged as most exposed to AI displacement. They feel the threat most acutely, and they’re responding by quietly stepping back.

Workers See Even More Coasting Around Them Than They Admit

We also asked workers how many of their coworkers seem to be doing the minimum. 57% said half or more. That’s higher than the 51% who place themselves in the do-the-minimum range.

The variance is modest, but it shows that people tend to spot disengagement in others a little more readily than they admit to it in themselves. This suggests the self-reported numbers throughout this study are honest and, if anything, slightly conservative.

Final Thoughts

The headline retention numbers deserve a second look. Low turnover can mean a workforce that’s happy to stay, or one that’s too anxious to leave and too deflated to give its best. This survey suggests a large share of American workers fall into the second group.

Fear is keeping people in their jobs and draining their effort, and it’s hitting younger workers and individual contributors hardest. For employers, the lesson is to ask what kind of retention they actually have. A full team that’s stopped going above and beyond will never maximize productivity.

👉 Download the full Employee Engagement Report PDF here

Survey Methodology

This report is based on a survey of 1,000 U.S.-based working adults, conducted by Founder Reports in June 2026. Respondents answered questions about why they stay in their current jobs, their level of concern about AI and automation, their current approach to their work, and their perceptions of disengagement among coworkers. All data presented in this article are based on self-reported responses from survey participants.