Career cushioning

In human resources, career cushioning refers to employees who discreetly upskill and network as a contingency plan in the event of job loss.^[1]^[2]

Career cushioning may involved getting certifications, expanding professional networks, updating resumes and profiles, and discretely applying to alternative jobs.^[1]^[3] The proactive approach provides a sense of security during uncertain economic times.^[1]^[4] Employers can combat career cushioning by improving their market competitiveness.^[5]

The term came to prominence in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic layoffs and stems from cushioning in dating, where partners have a backup plan and cushioning a fall.^[6]^[7]^[8]

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v t e Critique of work
Historical persons	Abbie Hoffman Edward Bellamy Alfredo M. Bonanno André Gorz Bob Black Günther Anders Guy Debord Heinrich Böll Ivan Illich Mikhail Bakunin Paul Lafargue Walter Benjamin Antonio Negri Bertrand Russell Friedrich Nietzsche Henry David Thoreau Herbert Marcuse Jerry Rubin Josef Pieper Karl Marx Max Stirner Max Weber Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Raoul Vaneigem Renzo Novatore Zo d'Axa
Contemporary persons	Franco Berardi L. Susan Brown Madeleine Bunting David Graeber Michael Hardt Maurizio Lazzarato Claus Peter Ortlieb Roland Paulsen Jeremy Rifkin Penelope Rosemont Mark Slouka Nick Srnicek Claire Wolfe John Zerzan
Terminology and related topics	996 working hour system Absenteeism Abusive supervision Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy Autonomism Bare minimum Monday Bullshit job Career catfishing Coffee badging Corporatocracy Conscious quitting Cycle of poverty Dolce far niente Effects of overtime Eight-hour day Employee ghosting Extermination through labour Career cushioning Careerism Flextime Forced labour Four-day workweek Funemployment Ghost job Uberisation / Gig worker Glass cliff Happiness economics Honeymoon-hangover effect Hush trip Infinite workday Job crafting Job cuffing Jobless employed Karoshi Loud quitting Neijuan Microretirement Occupational burnout Occupational safety and health Occupational stress Orange S.A. suicides Overwork Performance punishment Post-work society Precariat Presenteeism Digital presenteeism Productivity theater Professional abuse Protestant work ethic Psychological safety Quick quitting Quiet hiring Quiet promotion Quiet quitting Quiet thriving Lazy girl job Rage applying Refusal of work Resenteeism Right to rest and leisure Sampo generation Sunday scaries Six-hour day Tang ping Technological unemployment Toxic workplace Narcissism Psychopathy Wage slavery Work ethic Workaholic Working poor Work–life interface
Theater, movies, music and art	À Nous la Liberté Office Space Swedish Public Freedom Service "Take This Job and Shove It" The Future of Work and Death The Main Thing Is Work! The Working Class Goes to Heaven Yama—Attack to Attack
Literature	Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral Bartleby, the Scrivener Bonjour paresse Bullshit Jobs The Conquest of Bread Critique of Economic Reason Fight Club Future Primitive and Other Essays In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays Inventing the Future Manifesto Against Work New Escapologist On the Poverty of Student Life The Society of the Spectacle Steal This Book The Abolition of Work The End of Work The Human Use of Human Beings The Idler The Revolution of Everyday Life The Right to Be Lazy The Soul at Work: From Alienation to Autonomy
Communities	R/antiwork CrimethInc. Situationist International
See also	Criticism of capitalism Critique of political economy Job strain

v t e Employment
Classifications	Academic tenure Casual Contingent work Full-time job Gig worker Job sharing Part-time job Self-employment Side job Skilled worker Journeyman Technician Tradesperson Independent contractor Labour hire Temporary work Laborer Wage labour
Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Cover letter Curriculum vitae Drug testing Employment contract Employment counsellor Executive search list Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Letter of recommendation Onboarding Overqualification Person–environment fit Personality–job fit theory Personality hire Probation Realistic job preview Recruitment Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme
Roles	Cooperative Employee Employer Internship Job Labour hire Permanent employment Supervisor Volunteering
Working class	Blue-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar Precariat White-collar Red-collar New-collar No-collar Orange-collar Scarlet-collar Black-collar Gold-collar
Career and training	Apprenticeship Artisan Master craftsman Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Overspecialization Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Operator Professional Tradesman Vocation
Attendance	Break Break room Career break Compassionate leave Bereavement leave Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Stress leave Time clock
Schedules	35-hour workweek Four-day week Eight-hour day 996 working hour system Flextime On-call Overtime Remote work Six-hour day Shift work Working time Workweek and weekend
Wages and salaries	Frisch elasticity of labor supply Global labor arbitrage Labour economics Labor share Labour supply Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Price elasticity of demand Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Remuneration Salary cap
Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Child care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Marriage leave Parental leave Pension By country Perk-cession Sick leave United States Take-home vehicle
Taxes	Payroll tax Tax bracket Income tax Negative Disposable income Salary packaging Unreported employment
Safety and health	Crunch Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Karoshi List of countries by rate of fatal workplace accidents Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational noise Occupational stress Personal protective equipment Repetitive strain injury Right to sit United States Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workers' right to access the toilet Workplace health promotion Workplace phobia Workplace wellness
Equal opportunity	Affirmative action Discrimination Equal pay for equal work Gender pay gap Glass ceiling
Infractions	Corporate collapses and scandals Accounting scandals Control fraud Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Exploitation of labour Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility
Willingness	Boreout Careerism Civil conscription Conscription Critique of work Dead-end job Job satisfaction McJob Organizational commitment Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck wages Unfree labour Wage slavery Work ethic Work–life interface Downshifting Slow living Workaholic
Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee offboarding Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Microretirement Retirement planning Retirement spend-down Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover
Unemployment	Barriers to entry Discouraged worker Economic depression Great Depression Long Depression Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Job losses caused by the Great Recession Lists of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Types of unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment Convention, 1919 Unemployment extension List of countries by unemployment rate Employment-to-population ratio List Wage curve Youth unemployment
Public programs	Workfare Unemployment insurance Make-work job Job creation program Job creation index Job guarantee Employer of last resort Guaranteed minimum income Right to work Historical: U.S.A.: Civil Works Administration Works Progress Administration Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
See also	Bullshit job Busy work Credentialism and educational inflation Emotional labor Evil corporation Going postal Kiss up kick down Labor rights Make-work job Narcissism in the workplace Post-work society Presenteeism Psychopathy in the workplace Sunday scaries Slow movement (culture) Toxic leader Toxic workplace Wage compression Working poor Workhouse
See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Critique of work Organized labor

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