About half of U.S. office workers are preparing for a second career in case something goes wrong with their current job, a survey found.
Half of Workers Say They Are Looking at Other Paths
According to the New York Post on the 28th, 48% of respondents said they were engaged in "career cushioning," or exploring alternative career paths, in a survey of 2,000 U.S. office workers conducted by market research firm Talker Research and commissioned by online education company TripleTen.
Of those, 77% said they had already begun preparing for a second career in case something unexpected happens at their current workplace.
The most common reason for wanting a new job was being able to do work they actually enjoy, at 29%. Another 29% said they would change careers for a better lifestyle or lower stress even at the same pay, and 29% said they would try a new line of work if they lost their current job.
By contrast, 52% said they had not yet considered a second career. The most cited obstacle was a lack of time, at 27%, followed by concerns about being too old, at 26%, and the burden of having to start over in an entry-level or junior position, at 20%.
Same Employer, Different Work — and AI to Learn
Most of those preparing for a second career are staying in their current jobs. The survey found that 91% had not left their employer over the past two years. Asked how they felt about their employment situation, 27% said they were optimistic, 20% said calm, 19% said excited and 18% said hopeful. And 54% judged the risk of losing their job or having to change employers within the next two years to be low or nonexistent.
Even so, 46% of those who remain at their current company said their duties or responsibilities had changed significantly over the past two years. The most common change was having to learn new skills, at 36%, followed by responding to economic shifts at 24% and taking on a colleague's workload at 20%. Another 18% said they had been affected by restructuring or layoffs.
Victor Menin, vice president of admissions at TripleTen, said today's labor market is changing rapidly and the ability to adapt to change is becoming an increasingly valuable career asset. Building skills beyond what a current role requires widens a worker's options when circumstances change, he said.
Indeed, 79% said they had learned new skills at their current job. Some 34% said they use AI chatbots in their daily work, and 33% said they use AI features built into workplace software. Another 30% said they had picked up new technology or business terminology.
After acquiring new skills, 44% said their confidence had grown, 36% said they felt greater job security and 30% said they had begun passing on what they learned to colleagues.
Anna Riabova, head of AI strategy and adoption at TripleTen, said the fastest-growing workers learn the fundamentals in courses, pick up practical tips from colleagues and absorb everyday working methods through AI. A trend is also emerging in which simple, repetitive tasks are handed to AI so people can focus on work that requires human judgment, she said.
