The Indicator from Planet Money
The Indicator from Planet Money

Are job hoppers better at their jobs?

September 4, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Aaron Broccoli, a 25-year-old from Rochester, New York, has worked at a halfway house, a magazine, a YMCA, two bakeries, and a home for people with disabilities—all in a few years. When asked what drives these moves, they put it plainly: “I take my praises and raises. You can say all the words you want, but if my check remains the same, then how much do you really appreciate me?” That sentiment captures a central tension in today’s labor market: job hopping is common and often stigmatized by employers, but new research suggests it may come with a hidden upside.

Why job hoppers might adapt faster

Rebecca Kehoe, a professor at Cornell University who studies human resources, co-authored a study testing whether frequent job changers develop a special skill: adaptability. Starting any new job involves a learning curve, from finding the bathroom to understanding unwritten cultural rules like how people take lunch or interact with leadership. Kehoe wondered whether people who change jobs more often get better at navigating that disorientation.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:56) **The Indicator's framing of job hopping** - Hosts Adrian Ma and Wayland Wong introduce the topic of job hopping, noting that while the overall quits rate is low, some people change jobs frequently, and new research suggests this might be an undervalued skill.
  • 2 (02:50) **Aaron Broccoli's job-hopping journey** - A 25-year-old from Rochester, NY, Aaron lists their recent jobs: halfway house worker, magazine editor, robotics instructor, bakery worker, bakery manager, and assistant resident supervisor.
  • 3 (04:44) **Rebecca Kehoe introduces the adaptability study** - The Cornell professor explains that her research focuses on whether job hoppers develop a special skill: adaptability to new workplaces.
  • 4 (05:56) **The hedge fund manager data set** - Kehoe and her co-author analyzed 27 years of data on nearly 9,000 hedge fund managers to test whether frequent job changers adapt faster.
  • 5 (06:40) **Key finding: job hoppers recover faster** - A manager who changed jobs only once might take five months to get up to speed, while a frequent job hopper might take only two months.
  • 6 (07:44) **Implications for employers** - Kehoe advises employers not to rule out job hoppers, as they come up to speed more quickly and adapt to new collaborative environments faster.
  • 7 (08:59) **Aaron's perspective on the findings** - Aaron reflects that their varied jobs taught them to communicate effectively with all kinds of people, which they see as solving 90% of problems.

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Show Notes

People with jobs are not always eager to leave them … but there are exceptions. Call them job hoppers. While many employers look down on this sort of professional promiscuity, new research suggests there are benefits to switching jobs frequently.  

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

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