Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 2...

Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 20 to 29.

The frenzied era of "job hopping" has definitively given way to a more apprehensive strategy: "job hugging." As the labor market cools, employees are foregoing high-risk, high-reward jumps for the perceived security of their current roles. [I] A new comprehensive report from Monster corroborates this shift, revealing that 75% of employees intend to stay put through 2027. The primary impetus is not growing loyalty, but pervasive trepidation; 48% concede they are staying purely due to economic uncertainty. The resulting labor environment is one of "jobless growth"—characterized by low hiring and low firing—where stability is prioritized over ambition.

Career experts are adamant that the trend is not a symptom of complacency, but a pragmatic response to an unpredictable landscape. Vicki Salemi, a career expert at Monster, posits that the new loyalty is about "survival, not necessarily satisfaction," with job security providing "a source of emotional security." [II] The practice is ubiquitous; Monster's data shows 85% of all workers have "job-hugged" at some point. The trend is particularly pronounced among tenured workers. 55% of survey respondents identified Gen X and Boomers as the most likely to adopt this risk-averse strategy, compared to just 25% who believed it was more prevalent among younger generations.

Staying put, however, does not equate to remaining stagnant. Experts like Salemi and Dmitrii Anikin of SalaryGuide urge employees to reframe their caution as an opportunity for strategic advancement. They advise job huggers to passively monitor the job market while simultaneously leveraging their current positions. Employees can capitalize on the stability by proactively acquiring new skills, building confidence, or exploring internal mobility, secondments, and new responsibilities. Many are also "side stacking"—cultivating multiple side hustles—to bolster their income streams and build a financial reserve against uncertainty. [III]

The “job-hugging” phenomenon creates a clear emotional tradeoff. The Monster survey found workers acutely divided: 27% report feeling “stuck” and dissatisfied, while 25% feel more secure and valued. Employers, in contrast, view the trend favorably; 49% see it positively, and 44% are neutral. [IV] They quietly appreciate the retention of institutional knowledge (22%) and, most critically, the lower turnover costs (30%) that a stable workforce provides. The key, experts advise, is for employees to manage their apprehension proactively. As Anikin suggests, by building skills and clarifying their direction, the fear of change subsides, allowing the eventual decision to stay or move to become an empowered one.

Question 20: According to paragraph 1, the increasing tendency for employees to remain in their current positions stems from ______.

A. a stagnant labor situation characterized by minimal hiring
B. the high-stakes career moves available in the prior market
C. a recent large-scale study corroborating the new shift
D. a widespread apprehension about the economic outlook