5 ways to break the “new year, new job” cycle in 2026

1. Purpose & meaning

We’re living in a stressful world right now. The cost of living’s squeezing, housing’s harder to secure than a Glasto ticket, and day-to-day life in the UK feels like losing 6–0 in a Sunday league match while getting battered by sideways rain.  

When you place all that alongside the hours people spend at work, it’s no surprise employees across every sector are taking a closer look at the value they get from their jobs. And in true BBC News style – BONG – they want more of it.   

A big part of the problem is the growing disconnect between the work people do and the purpose their organisation claims to be working toward. When that gap widens, the sense of value that should anchor someone to their role starts to fade.  

People aren’t expecting their job to transform the world; they just want to know their effort contributes to something meaningful, and that their organisation hasn’t lost sight of that. 

This is where people leaders need to take the time to show “the why” behind the day-to-day work – how it supports a bigger goal and creates impact. Things like organisational values, mission statements and social responsibility help employees understand the point of their work in the wider picture.   

2. Recognition

Think back to the last time someone praised you. Like, properly praised you. Looked you in the eye and told you well done. Said they were proud of you. It felt nice, didn’t it? Probably stuck with you, too. I know whenever I get a compliment, I pretty much live off it for the next six months…  

Recognition has that effect because it’s one of the most powerful ways to help employees feel valued. But it only works when it’s meaningful, consistent and delivered at the right moment.   

Technology can make this a lot easier – especially for spread-out workforces who don’t get the chance to bump into each other in the kitchen and exchange a quick “well done.” Tools that support everyday recognition help make sure the message reaches people, wherever they’re based. And with AI-assisted recognition becoming more accessible, there’s a real opportunity to make these moments more frequent and more thoughtful.  

The issue is that plenty of organisations haven’t quite figured out how to weave it into everyday culture in a natural way.  

Recognition is a powerful lever for building a sense of value, but that gap opens up when programmes aren’t consistent, visible or personal. If it means something to the person receiving it, it’s doing its job. If it doesn’t, it’s just another thing said for the sake of saying something. 

3. Inclusivity and flexibility

We’re in a unique moment right now, with five – and in some workplaces, even six – generations working side by side. It’s wild to think that someone born in the 1940s could be work besties with someone born in the 2010s.  

Because of this multigenerational mix, flexible support that covers different needs and life stages is essential. You can’t pigeonhole people based on what you assume they might be dealing with or what you’ve read about generational traits. The trick is to simply ask people what they want, then build support that can flex and adapt as their circumstances shift. 

Take a Gen Z employee who’s fresh out of uni, living at home and trying to find their footing in an unpredictable job market. Their needs will look nothing like those of a Gen X employee who might be caring for an elderly parent while juggling full-time work and the mental load that comes with it. Both are valid, both matter, and both require support that acknowledges the reality of their lives.  

This is where offering a flexible package becomes crucial. Showing employees how your benefits can be shaped around different stages of life helps them understand what’s possible for them. And it’s just as important for your current employees to know what’s available as it is for prospective employees who are assessing whether your organisation feels like somewhere they could grow.  

4. Wellbeing

Remember those stresses we talked about earlier, like money worries and the general slog of modern life? Add things like trauma, discrimination, loneliness, and tough life events, and it’s easy to see how employee wellbeing can suffer. When that happens, working the way you normally do becomes a lot harder, no matter how capable or committed you are. 

Mental ill health is now the leading cause of long-term absence and the second most common cause of short-term absence. 64% of organisations are taking steps to identify or reduce stress in the workplace, yet only half believe those efforts are effective.  

The old trope of a nervous jobseeker turning up to an interview and offering heartfelt gratitude for being given the bare minimum is long gone. These days, employees are (quite rightly) asking what’s in it for them. They want genuine, authentic care across all areas of their wellbeing – not a token perk shoved into a wonky pantomime horse costume and paraded around as a thoroughbred. If employers aren’t willing to step up and provide real support, people simply won’t work for them.   

The modern working world asks for something different: cultures where colleagues look out for one another, managers who check in regularly, and support that’s available every day as well as at the point of need.  

Our expert Pippa had a lovely little idea. Pull out and promote real stories from your team about how they’ve used your wellbeing support in moments that mattered. It encourages a culture where care is something people see modelled in real life, by real colleagues dealing with real, relatable things.   

5. Manager training

Of course we need to keep things professional in the workplace, but there’s really no reason that managers can’t be… well, mates. Not in the forced, 70s-sitcom way where the boss comes round for dinner, everyone panics, the good plates come out, and the whole night feels like a hostage situation punctuated by forced laughter. It’s 2026, and we’re long past those old-school hierarchical dynamics.  

People should feel comfortable reaching out to their managers when they’re going through it. It shouldn’t feel awkward, exposing, or like you’re crossing some kind of invisible line. You should be able to talk to them in the same way you’d talk to a friend – openly, and with the confidence that you’ll receive compassion rather than judgement. Because that’s how things get sorted. That’s how problems get addressed early, and how people feel safe enough to ask for what they need. 

But a lot of managers aren’t equipped with the knowledge, tools or resources to make the right impact. Only 29% of organisations are training line managers in mental health, which leaves a sizeable gap between what employees need and what managers feel able – or even allowed – to do.  

Training can help managers spot when someone might need wellbeing support before things spiral. And it helps establish those feedback loops that give people leaders a real-time sense of how their workforce is feeling, instead of relying on stuff like surveys or whispers that something’s wrong.  

Staying never looked so good

Don’t let 2026 be the year a huge chunk of your hard-working, hard-earned workforce moves on. The “new year, new job” stereotype has had a good run, but it doesn’t need to play out in your organisation. 

Use our tips to take action and build workplaces that feel worth committing to – where people can see themselves not just getting through the next twelve months, but still being there years from now because it feels like the best place to be.