An increasing number of adults are slogging through jobs they don’t like solely because they don’t want to lose their health insurance.
This phenomenon — known as “job lock” — has existed in the U.S. workforce for decades. The worry of losing health benefits inhibits the ability for people, especially those with more health problems or complex conditions, to switch jobs or careers. Economists have also said job lock prevents people from starting their own businesses.
Almost a quarter of all U.S. workers say they want to leave their current job but won’t because they want to keep their health benefits, according to a new survey of more than 2,000 employed people from Gallup and West Health. That’s up significantly from 16% in 2021, the last time Gallup measured job lock among working adults.
