Fewer than 1 in 4 workers feel their job is safe. Here’s why worker ‘FOBO’—fear of becoming obsolete—is hurting companies

When Oracle cut scores of jobs last month, Melody Wilding, an executive coach and author, knew she was going to hear about it from her clients. For months now, the corporate professionals Wilding advises have been airing fears about losing their jobs, and their worries seem to spike “when big companies make layoff announcements,” she says. In the era of ‘forever’ layoffs and looming dread caused by AI’s advances in automating work, her clients are plagued by “the sensation that you never can get too settled.