The "Shrekking" Trend: How Job Seekers Are Now Settling For "Ogre" Roles Instead Of Chasing Dream Jobs
Coined after everyone’s favorite animated green ogre, Shrekking has blown up as the newest viral dating trend: it describes when people pursue a romantic connection with someone they’re not actually attracted to, purely in the hopes that this person will treat them well and consistently. (After all, that exact gamble worked out perfectly for Princess Fiona.) But there’s a common, gutting plot twist that often follows: even when you lower your personal standards to date someone, they still end up breaking your heart. Put plainly: you get all the ogre, none of the gentle, royal treatment you gambled on.
Job searching often feels remarkably similar to dating, so it’s no surprise that a parallel trend has started to take hold in professional life too. Just as many tired daters give up on hunting for their perfect ideal partner, many workers have stopped chasing their dream job as well — if a truly perfect dream job ever even existed in the first place.
Instead, many job seekers now opt for more muted, unassuming “boring” roles that feel less flashy or impressive to others, and that many view as a step below what their skills and qualifications warrant. The trade-off they’re chasing is straightforward: better pay, stronger benefits, and long-term stability. This shift has become especially widespread as workers continue to navigate a strained global job market. Since January 2024, global entry-level job postings have dropped by 29%.
Countless modern job seekers have grown so jaded from shrinking opportunities and the persistent despair that comes with endless rejection that many are willing to take roles they don’t even actually want. In fact, data from the World Economic Forum shows that nearly half of all workers say their current role isn’t even on the path to their original dream career.
Gen Z job seekers in particular have little interest in flashy job titles or uncompensated extra responsibilities. They instead prioritize low-stress roles, and save their true passions and ambitions for time outside of work. Why risk heartbreak chasing a charming prince of a dream job, the logic goes, when you can land an “ogre” role that treats you right?
Just like single daters are “shrekking” their love lives in the hopes of steady, kind treatment, today’s job seekers are now settling for roles they would have once dismissed as beneath their worth. An analysis of U.S. census data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 41.2% of graduates in their early to mid-20s were underemployed as of March 2024, working in roles that generally do not require a bachelor’s degree. That marks an increase from 38.9% recorded just three months prior in December 2023.
And once job seekers land these roles, they are holding onto them tightly. Across all industries, workers are widely encouraged to cling to any job they already have, regardless of how little they enjoy the actual work. Even if workers believe they are qualified for a better role, most see staying put as the safer bet for now — far better than risking putting themselves back on the market, facing rejection, or winding up unemployed for a long stretch.
