Few workers are quitting right now. These people share why they did it anyway.

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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom.

On the agenda today:

• Costco’s new shopping hours are the latest example of America’s consumer caste system.
• She bought an apartment in NYC at 28 years old. The wildest part? It was easy.
• Microsoft employees are officially heading back to the office.
• Wall Street is flocking to Texas. Here’s what financial giants are building in the state.

But first: Quitting? In this economy?

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This week’s dispatch

It’s time to go

Quitting a job can be a tantalizing idea — especially when so few people are actually doing it.

The worker quit rate across the country has been around 2% for much of the year. Excluding the beginning of the pandemic, that’s near the lowest it’s been since 2018, according to the Labor Department.

More people appear to be “job-hugging” than “job-hopping” these days.

That’s what makes the stories of people actually quitting even more fascinating.

Some just want a change; others yearn to move overseas. Many are career switchers looking for a fresh start. There are those who regret quitting, while others say it’s the best decision of their lives.

Business Insider has spoken with workers who decided it was time for a change. Here are their stories, in their own words.

Jessica Yen: “I worked long hours in data analytics, but the difference now is that I’m willing to put in far more hours because it’s my own company; it’s part of my identity,” said Yen, who is now an entrepreneur.

Evelyn Ramli: “I decided to take a pay cut and switch to a corporate marketing job,” said Ramli, who previously quit being a content creator because it made her insecure and anxious. “I’m still not sure if it was the right decision.”

Blair Lonergan: “Success for me isn’t about the money — it’s about the lifestyle I have,” said Lonergan, who stopped working as an attorney when her website about family life took off. “I would happily do this job for less because of the time it gives me with my family. The money is an added bonus.”

Sofia Javier: “My advice to others is to do what makes you happy and fulfills you. If it’s not the Big Four, you can leave whenever you want and take control of your life,” said Javier, who left PwC to join Comcast as a senior financial analyst.

Cindy Sheahan: “My quality of life has improved in Italy,” said Sheahan, who quit her job, divorced her husband, and moved overseas to retire. “I walk almost everywhere, so my blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol are in better condition. I eat better, I’ve made new friends, I’ve cut down on expenses, and most importantly, I’m happy.”

Have you quit your job or are you thinking about doing it? We’d love to hear from you. Please email me at [email protected].

You’ll need to pay extra for that

For $130 a year, instead of the annual $65 base tier, Costco’s executive members have access to fancy discounts — and more recently — special store hours.

The move is part of a trend happening across the economy where businesses increase customer stratification to boost revenue and identify exactly how much they can get out of each consumer. Particularly in sectors like entertainment, travel, and retail, consumers have more choices than ever — but it’ll cost you, BI’s Emily Stewart writes.

A new consumer reality.

In her homeowner era

BI’s Juliana Kaplan recently achieved a milestone in New York City that most of her generation merely dreams of: homeownership. At 28, she bought an apartment and was stunned at how easy it actually was.

Juliana secured her dream house thanks to a mix of thrift and luck. As part of the oldest cohort of Gen Zers, she entered the job market at the perfect time, right before the pandemic. She’s also part of a small but growing trend of young, single homebuyers.

The American dream (Juliana’s Version).

Microsoft employees are going back to the office

One of Big Tech’s remaining RTO holdouts is now calling its employees back to the office at least three days a week, according to an internal email Microsoft sent to staff.

The mandate will occur in three phases, starting at the end of February 2026 with Seattle-area employees living within 50 miles of a Microsoft office. It will then expand to other US offices and eventually internationally, per an email from Microsoft’s HR chief.

Read the memo.

Also read:

• Microsoft is setting an even stricter RTO policy for its AI org, internal document shows
• Microsoft execs make the case for RTO in leaked meeting: In-person staff are ‘thriving’

Dallas Bankers Club

Wall Street is out, Y’all Street is in. Big banks and institutions, from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, are investing heavily in their Texas presence.

The Lone Star state, which promises a tax-friendly environment, is inviting plenty of new development from these firms. From new office buildings to HQ relocations, see what some of the big names are up to.

Enter Y’all Street.

This week’s quote:

“The worse the old chapter was, the more you need the fresh start.“

— Katy Milkman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, on the Great Lock In trend being an example of the “fresh start effect.”

More of this week’s top reads:

• Exclusive: Leadership changes hit the xAI team training Grok, and some employees have been asked to explain their work.
• The Department of Defense is betting on a startup that wants to control prosthetic limbs with muscle memory.
• Exclusive: Here’s NBCU’s severance offer for employees who don’t want to return to the office.
• US data center construction spending reaches record-breaking high.
• From 6 figures to minimum wage: America’s oldest workers are taking pay cuts.
• How a $1 billion TikTok challenger unraveled.
• Microsoft to spend heavily to build its own AI chip cluster and become “self-sufficient,” AI CEO says in leaked meeting.

• 20-year-old fintech Klarna finally went public. Here’s who’s getting rich.

  The BI Today team: Steve Russolillo, chief news editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

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The post Few workers are quitting right now. These people share why they did it anyway. appeared first on Business Insider.