In the olden days...a job was for life. You'd take a job and you'd likely still be with that business forty years later when you collected your engraved clock at 65. These days things are very different and whilst I do know a few people who have worked for the same organisation for 10 years plus, they are few.
So. Stockholm Syndrome is a bit harsh (but a good headline). The phrase originates from the 1970s after a bank robbery and hostage crisis where they saw that hostages developed positive, loyal and even loving feelings towards their captors as a means to survive. Workplace situations can sometimes be referred to as Corporate Stockholm Syndrome - employees become intensely connected to their bosses whilst simultaneously feeling mistreated. Employees can be subjected to verbal abuse, belittling and being passed over for promotion but feel unable to speak up for fear of job loss and financial consequences. This then leads to a loss of self esteem and it becomes a cycle of self doubt, blame and inability to leave the situation.
To be fair the true Stockholm Syndrome where there is a real case of 'mistreatment' is rare. However, there is a definite (okay, anecdotal) theme that if someone has spent a long time with one employer, they are definitely more tentative and less confident in 'pitching' themselves to new employers. You could argue that this is because they are less practised at the interview process and after spending a long time with one employer, they are less aware of their skills and how other employers could consider them to be a strong hire. Whilst 'mistreatment' is rare, it is more common that an employee has felt 'settled' and in a certain 'comfort zone' with an employer. They may have had a couple of promotions and then not seen the point in moving jobs - it could be that the role is local to where they live, the employer may have offered flexible options to manage family life, or it could simply be that they have enjoyed working there and it hasn't occurred to them to move. Equally it could be that the organisation is exciting, fast paced, offers continued advancement and in those circumstances....you couldn't blame them for sitting tight. After all, the grass is not always greener. Everyone feels some sense of trepidation when moving roles to a new employer - it's a bit of a gamble!
It only becomes an issue when that person does decide to seek new employment. It may be their own choice or it may be thrust upon them. How other employers view an individual who has stayed with an organisation for a long time varies. It can exhibit loyalty or at the other extreme a lack of ambition. In the world of creative agencies, the average length of service is around 3 years. The irony of this is that spending too short a time with an employer is observed with the same amount of scrutiny and cynicism as spending too long! One could argue that an employee can't win!
Individuals tend to move jobs primarily for more money and for promotion - if that's lacking, the life aspirations of an employee forces them to seek new roles. These days, employees in the same business share a lot! They talk about salaries and benefits and if they feel that they are not progressing at the same speed as their peers, they'll start to look for something new. In the old days, that never happened. The idea of my Dad (for example) talking about what he earned....to anyone...just wouldn't happen. This is why most of my agency clients work with bandings for employee 'levels' to ensure that employees with the same role and responsibilities are roughly paid the same salary. This does vary though and particularly in independent agencies where an owner manager will pay what the candidate wants in order to get them on board. They may suffer later though if that individual does share their package details with their work colleagues.
In the old days, employees were working towards a final salary pension which doesn't truly exist these days. Creative agencies historically were less likely to have a solid benefits 'package' which meant less loyalty from employees who may have had more incentive to stay. Fortunately this has changed and creative agencies now offer far more benefits to encourage their employees to stay agency-side rather than moving to blue chip brands where the benefits are generally considered 'better'.
The other observation I have made is that individuals working in certain job roles move more than others. So for example, account handlers in client services teams agency side do move frequently but Web developers, Designers and Copywriters move far less. Perhaps creative profiles are more interested in a challenging role and a business where they are 'happy' than they are in money and 'progression'. I know detractors would argue that one should be able to 'have it all' but that's another debate. Ultimately we are all different, we all have different mindsets, ambitions - our own personal equations of what makes a 'good life' are different. Often the movers and shakers are the ones who aspire to a fancy car/house/insert other as appropriate - but there are many people for whom these things are just not on the agenda.
Additionally...and again, anecdotally men move more than women. There could be many reasons and I'm not going to try to make generalisations, I'll be slated! However, I've seen a bit of research of home-life during the Pandemic and it does support the fact that women are still doing the lion's share of management in the home. It might be no surprise then that women are then content to work for an employer who provides flexible working, a fair salary and an enjoyable role with some progression and so it makes sense to stay rather than to go through the initial uncertainty of starting a new role with an unknown and untested employer.
What all employers should strive for is to try to achieve the Stockholm Syndrome feelings without the mistreatment! Loyalty and a sense of love for one's employer is fantastic...if that is as a result of being looked after, rewarded appropriately and offered progression as a matter of course. The last year has shown us all to seize the day and that life is (potentially short). All the cliches mean that in the coming months, if individuals don't feel valued and respected in the workplace - they'll look elsewhere.