[Flight risk and early signals](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#flight-risk) # What is the Open to Work signal? Definition Open to Work is a public LinkedIn setting that tells recruiters a person is open to new roles. Shown publicly, it is one of the most direct job-search signals a profile can carry. Last updated October 13, 2026 ## Open to Work tells recruiters a person is open to new roles. According to [LinkedIn's own help page](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a507508) (checked 13 October 2026), members choose who sees the setting. Shared with all LinkedIn members, it is visible to recruiters and to people at their current company, and it adds an #OpenToWork photo frame to the profile picture. Shared with recruiters only, LinkedIn takes steps to hide it from recruiters at the member's current company, without guaranteeing it. So when you can see the frame on a colleague's profile, they chose to show it publicly. ## The person chose to make it visible. It is public and deliberate: the person chose to broadcast it. Treated as a prompt for a genuine conversation about growth or workload, it is useful. Treated as a disciplinary trigger, it destroys the trust that retention depends on. ## A good response is a conversation about growth or workload. _Figure: Four steps for responding to an Open to Work badge. Do not react to the badge: never treat it as a disciplinary trigger. Talk about the work: ask about growth, workload and what the person wants next. Act on what you hear: a new project, a pay review or a path to an internal move. Accept the answer: some people have already decided, and a good exit matters too._ Do not react to the badge itself. Talk about the work, act on what you hear, whether that is a new project, a pay review or a path to an [internal move](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#internal-mobility), and accept the answer. Some people have already decided, and a well-handled exit keeps the door open for a [boomerang](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#boomerang-employee) return. ## The badge is strong on its own and stronger with other signals. It is one of the most direct job-search signals a profile can carry. Seen together with other [resignation signals](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/resignation-signal), such as a refreshed headline or a burst of new skills, it suggests a search may already be underway. ## TeamPredict treats the badge as one signal among several. TeamPredict checks the public LinkedIn profiles of the people you choose to track every day. The Open to Work badge is one of the signals it watches, alongside headline and title changes, new skills, photo and summary refreshes, and spikes in profile-edit activity. It never contacts the people you track. [See how it works](https://www.teampredict.ai/retention-software). ## These are the common mistakes with the Open to Work signal. - Confronting the person about the badge, which ends the trust a retention conversation needs. - Making a rushed [counteroffer](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#counteroffer) instead of asking what is wrong. - Assuming it is about you. It can mean a contract ending, a partner relocating, or simple curiosity. - Ignoring it. A public badge is the person telling the market they are ready to move. ## Find out who is showing exit signals. The badge is one of the outside signals in the free flight risk assessment. Score one person against ten factors in five areas, in a few minutes. [Run a flight risk assessment](https://www.teampredict.ai/tools/employee-flight-risk-assessment) Free, no signup required. ## These related terms are in the glossary too. - [Resignation signal](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/resignation-signal) A resignation signal is an observable change that tends to precede someone giving notice, such as a public profile refresh, a withdrawal from optional work, or a shift in visible career activity. - [Flight risk](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/flight-risk) Flight risk is the likelihood that a specific employee leaves in the near future, based on observable signals rather than a manager's hunch. - [Predictive attrition model](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary/predictive-attrition-model) A predictive attrition model estimates which employees are most likely to leave in a coming period, from patterns that preceded past departures. - [Counteroffer](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#counteroffer) A counteroffer is a revised offer, usually pay or title, made to an employee who has already resigned in order to keep them. - [Boomerang employee](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#boomerang-employee) A boomerang employee is a former employee who is rehired by the same company after working somewhere else. - [Stay interview](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#stay-interview) A stay interview is a structured conversation with a current employee about what keeps them here and what would make them consider leaving. ## These pages on this site go deeper. - [How signal-based retention works](https://www.teampredict.ai/retention-software) About TeamPredict TeamPredict is retention early-warning software that flags resignation risk from public LinkedIn signals, so you have lead time to keep the people you want to keep. [See how TeamPredict works](https://www.teampredict.ai/retention-software) [Back to the HR glossary](https://www.teampredict.ai/glossary#open-to-work), where all 52 terms are defined.