More American workers report feeling trapped in their jobs while looking to make career changes

As people refresh, reset and reprioritize in the new year, some may be looking to make some big changes at work.

A growing number of American workers report feeling trapped in their jobs. Some are happy with the work but not the pay, while others are looking for more work-life balance after being called back into the office post-pandemic.

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“Employees are feeling overworked, undervalued, underpaid,” said Julie Bauke, chief career happiness officer for the Bauke Group.

But with the job market cooling and looming economic uncertainty, making a change may be rather daunting.

According to a Gallup poll released in December, people are looking for new jobs at the highest rate in nearly a decade, but in a cooler labor market with a low unemployment rate there’s fear those opportunities may not be there.

“The time between jobs for people to find a job after they lose a job is pretty high,” Bauke said. “It’s 23.7 weeks on average. And that’s pretty scary number.”

Gallup refers to this shift as “The Great Detachment,” and it’s causing frustration for employers too.

“Eighteen percent of people in their latest report are actually engaged at work,” Bauke said. “That means you’ve got 82% of your people as an employer who are saying, not feeling it.”

If you’re ready to make a move, you can simply start by talking to the people you know.

“Reach out to that network to identify people that they know who would be in a position to give advice, to make introductions,” said career counselor Jim Weinstein.

And don’t rely on one-click job applications with the same resume each time to land you that dream position.

“Tailor the resume that you’re sending in so that it uses the keywords that are in the job description,” said Weinstein.