Stay or Move On? The Quiet Resignation Question of 2026

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Every year, as calendars thin toward December, offices grow louder in a peculiar way. Not with celebration, but with whispers.

“I might resign after bonus.”
“I’m looking, but quietly.”
“Next year, I’ll decide.”

Resignation has become an annual ritual. Sometimes intentional. Sometimes accidental. Sometimes born out of exhaustion rather than ambition. As we step into 2026, the question no longer belongs only to employees.

It belongs equally to employers.

Can companies still sustain talent, or are they quietly preparing for turnover? Do organisations truly want retention, or are they increasingly open to new blood, fresh energy, and cheaper recalibration?

The Private-Sector Reality

For private-sector employees, the bargaining table is uneven. Unlike the public sector, there is no promise of permanence, no pension safety net, no fixed ladder. What remains is a constant negotiation between salary, stress, and survival.

We often assume the decision to stay or leave revolves around money. But recent conversations suggest otherwise.

Just before the New Year, I spoke casually with a waitress. Her salary, after deductions, hovers around RM1,500 a month. No career promise. No clear progression. No recognition framework. And yet, she was calm. Almost content.

Her reason was simple.

“I don’t bring work home. I don’t overthink. I repeat the same tasks every day. My head is light.”

She was not ambitious in the corporate sense, but she was mentally free.

Contrast that with another conversation. A professional in a reputable company, earning around RM4,500 monthly. A respectable figure by most standards. But eight months of sleepless nights. Medication for high blood pressure. A mind that never truly clocks out.

Both are working-class individuals. Both are employed. Both are “successful” in different metrics. Yet their lived realities could not be further apart.

So What Is the True Currency?

If salary alone were the answer, the decision would be simple. But 2026 demands a more honest accounting.

The real currencies today are:

  • Mental clarity

  • Predictability of life

  • Emotional bandwidth

  • Health

  • Time that feels like your own

For some, a lower salary buys peace. For others, a higher salary funds a lifestyle they are unwilling to give up, even if it comes at a personal cost.

Neither choice is wrong. But both come with consequences.

Employers: Retention or Renewal?

From the employer’s side, the question is equally complex.

Is retention still the goal, or has controlled turnover become part of strategy? Experienced employees bring stability, but also fatigue, higher cost, and resistance to change. New hires bring energy, but require time, training, and tolerance for mistakes.

The companies that will survive 2026 are not those that merely pay more, but those that understand why their people stay.

Is it purpose?
Is it autonomy?
Is it manageable pressure?
Or is it simply fear of change?

The 2026 Question

So here we are, at the beginning of another year.

Do you stay because you are happy?
Or do you stay because your lifestyle depends on it?

Is 2026 your year to deepen roots, or to quietly prepare for a leap? Not every jump needs to be dramatic. Sometimes the bravest move is staying. Sometimes it is leaving before your health sends the resignation letter on your behalf.

The noise will return at the end of this year. It always does. But perhaps the better question is not when to resign, but why you are staying.

Your answer may define not just your career, but the quality of your life.




Location: Level 3, No 6, Lot 3-057, Jalan Cochrane, Seksyen 90, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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