Why American workers are entering 2026 prepared to survive, not to surge ahead

The new year is usually sold as a clean slate. Fresh goals. New opportunities. A sense that the hard parts belong to the past. But as 2026 begins, American workers are not stepping forward with optimism; they are stepping carefully, eyes fixed on the ground, wary of what might give way beneath their feet.After a year marked by stalled wages, cautious hiring, and shifting workplace norms, confidence in the job market has thinned. According to Zety’s 2026 Job Predictions Report, employees are not expecting a rebound. They are preparing for restraint. Nearly two-thirds of workers, 65%, believe the US job market will either stagnate or weaken this year compared to 2025. For many, the question is no longer how to get ahead but how to stay afloat.

Layoffs loom larger than ambition

The fear is not abstract. It is immediate and personal. Zety’s survey found that 49% of workers expect layoffs to become more common in 2026, while 33% cite job security as their single biggest career concern. In a labour market once defined by leverage and choice, workers are now calculating risk, quietly updating résumés, delaying big decisions, and avoiding moves that feel unnecessary.This anxiety reflects a deeper shift in mindset. Career ambition has not disappeared, but it has been subdued by uncertainty.

Workers are no longer chasing titles at any cost. Stability, predictability, and survival have taken precedence over rapid upward mobility.

When pay no longer keeps pace with life

If layoffs represent fear of loss, stagnant wages represent something slower and more corrosive. More than 51% of employees say their biggest concern for 2026 is that their salary will not keep up with inflation, according to the Zety report.This is not about luxury. It is about erosion. Rent rises, healthcare costs climb.

Groceries inch upward. When wages fail to move in step, workers feel themselves falling behind even while staying employed. The result is frustration, exhaustion, and a sense that effort is no longer rewarded in proportion to its cost.

The retreat of remote work

For many employees, flexibility once served as a counterweight to these pressures. Remote and hybrid work offered time, autonomy, and relief from rising living expenses. That cushion now appears to be shrinking.Nearly 30% of workers believe remote work opportunities will decline in 2026 as more employers pull staff back into offices, Zety found. For employees who reorganised their lives around flexibility, moving cities, managing caregiving, or avoiding burnout—the rollback feels less like a policy shift and more like a loss of control.

A hiring market defined by scarcity and machines

Even for those willing to move on, the path forward looks narrow. Half of all employees (50%) believe a lack of available jobs will be the biggest hiring challenge in 2026, while 48% point to competition from AI and automation, according to Zety’s findings.Hiring slowdowns, combined with algorithm-driven screening and automation, have reshaped how opportunity is distributed. For job seekers, this means fewer openings, longer waits, and an opaque process where rejection often arrives without explanation. Compounding the anxiety, 19% of workers believe starting salaries for new hires will be lower than in 2025, suggesting that even successful candidates may need to reset expectations.

Skills as insurance, not ambition

Faced with these realities, workers are not surrendering, but they are adapting. The Zety survey shows a clear pivot toward what employees see as “future-proof” skills. Nearly 69% believe AI and tech-related skills will be the most valuable in 2026, followed by industry certifications (42%), communication skills (28%), and leadership capabilities (23%).This is not enthusiasm for disruption. It is pragmatism. Workers understand that employability now depends on relevance.

Even basic AI literacy or targeted certification is increasingly viewed as insurance against obsolescence rather than a pathway to promotion. The divide, many fear, will widen between those who upskill and those who cannot.

Burnout quietly shapes career decisions

Beyond economics and technology lies a quieter concern. Twenty-seven percent of workers cite burnout or mental health as a major issue heading into 2026, while 25% worry about companies cutting flexible work options, according to Zety.These concerns suggest a workforce running on depleted reserves. After years of disruption, adaptation, and acceleration, employees are recalibrating their tolerance for stress. Fewer are willing to sacrifice well-being for uncertain rewards.

What employers risk misunderstanding

Taken together, the data paint a workforce that is cautious, not complacent. Workers are not disengaged, they are discerning. They are watching how companies respond to inflation, flexibility, mental health, and transparency.Zety’s findings suggest that organisations offering stability, clear communication, and realistic growth, not grand promises, are most likely to earn loyalty in 2026. In a year defined by restraint, trust may prove more valuable than perks.

A year of holding ground

The dominant mood entering 2026 is not despair, but vigilance. Employees are bracing for impact, managing expectations, and redefining success. In place of bold leaps, they are choosing careful steps. In place of ambition for ambition’s sake, they are prioritising endurance.The clean slate of the new year remains, but it is being written on cautiously, line by line, by a workforce that has learned the cost of believing too easily in better days.