What is career padding? The workplace trend you’re about to hate

Amid a looming recession, ongoing misalignments between workers and bosses, and a widespread lack of enthusiasm for work and its place in people’s lives, career dampening is, simply put, the move to plan a new job while still at your current job work. It’s not dissimilar to “cutting down” in dating culture to keep your romantic options open to soften the blow should your current relationship — or situation — end.

The term entered the workplace a few weeks ago with a LinkedIn post by careers expert Catherine Fisher. She defined career cushioning as “taking steps to keep your options open and cushioning for whatever comes next in the economy and the job market.”

“You keep your options open in case you need a new job,” she said. “Think of it as hedging your bets.” In other words, “career cushioning” means going through the job search without first officially quitting — whatever the step was, recession notwithstanding.

“A lot of people feel that looking for another job while they’re already employed is cheating a company, which I think is crazy,” career strategist Abbie Martin told Bloomberg. But she reminds career pads to be ethical. “Maybe you’ll do some research during your lunch break.”

This pillow is well worn

So why is career suspension the new trend du jour? Probably because more people are participating than ever. Layoffs have hit the tech sector particularly hard this year, including companies like Meta, Twitter, HP and Google. As we approach a recession, there is little doubt that further layoffs across all industries are imminent in the short term.

This – and the fact that many companies hardly offer any severance packages – has left many workers increasingly disillusioned and more likely to seek new or more stable opportunities. In addition, over the past three years, workers have largely redefined the role they expect their work to play in their lives, and are more willing than ever to leave a company that doesn’t offer flexibility and balance.

All of those complaints added up: nearly half of American workers now say they wouldn’t wish their job on their worst enemy. “We are in a crisis of purpose and meaning, not just burnout,” said Arianna Huffington wealth, adding that managers have a “huge” responsibility to take action before an employee is quietly fired – or now reportedly to the career cushion.

The art of the pillow

Rather than trying to lean into your current role and change what you don’t like, Career Dampening would instead recommend putting energy into a job search. Fisher even outlined a three-step guide to joining the trend. First, update your LinkedIn because your network is “your most important professional asset.” Second, brush up on the skills most in-demand for the job you’re looking for. And third, plan what you want to achieve in your next role and figure out what it takes to get there.

But many workers feel they don’t need to be told that. As quietly quitting dominated the airwaves, many began poking fun at the conversation about career dampening. “In my day it was just ‘find a new job’.” tweeted finance meme account Litquidity.

“Once companies decide they can fire employees at any time, the only intelligent response from employees is a ‘career cushion’.” another pointed this out. “Wall Street employees, whose firms started firing anytime, for any reason, in the 1980s have been ‘career buffers’ ever since. It’s just tit for tat.”
Another user make it clear: “Anyone in a field with some level of churn who isn’t ‘career buffer’ is an idiot.”

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