What keeps 24% of workers in jobs they don’t like? Health insurance

Bob covers the money in health care, focusing on health insurance and hospitals. His stories delve into Medicare Advantage, opaque prescription drug benefits, and how much executives actually make. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09.

An increasing number of adults are slogging through jobs they don’t like solely because they don’t want to lose their health insurance.

This phenomenon — known as “job lock” — has existed in the U.S. workforce for decades. The worry of losing health benefits inhibits the ability for people, especially those with more health problems or complex conditions, to switch jobs or careers. Economists have also said job lock prevents people from starting their own businesses. 

Almost a quarter of all U.S. workers say they want to leave their current job but won’t because they want to keep their health benefits, according to a new survey of more than 2,000 employed people from Gallup and West Health. That’s up significantly from 16% in 2021, the last time Gallup measured job lock among working adults.