Where is my job security?

For most of us at any time on any day we could be told we no longer have a job.This is true for leaders as well as everyone else in the organization. Certainly we are more susceptible when the economy is sputtering, but with all the uncertainty and exogenous variables at play in today’s world our job security is always at risk.

It seems many of us have chosen to live scared. We fear for our job and this anxiety affects our behaviors and decisions. Who can blame us? Layoffs abound; ownership is often off-site and faceless; loyalty seems to be only a quaint concept to many; competition is more intense than ever; mergers and buyouts come out of nowhere and closings are in the news daily. When we lose our job (and we probably will) we have to deal with health insurance issues, the steady stream of bills, self-esteem concerns plus we must find another position. This is pretty scary stuff. Nonetheless, we cannot live our life in fear.

Expecting our job to be secure is not realistic today. It was once but that paradigm shifted a while back. The younger among us understand this better than those over 40. Managing our expectations is the first step toward embracing this new reality.

No longer can we expect others to provide us a secure, protected milieu in which to live. Our feeling of security must now come from within our individual actions. Looking inward instead of outward for security requires a fundamental shift in thinking. On the one hand it is nice to be taken care of but on the other hand there is much to be gained from more self-reliance because of its positive impact on achieving our individual potential. Comfort in the work world can no longer be derived from a secure position–It must come from a secure self.

Wherever we work, whatever we do our challenge is to learn as much as possible about anything and everything. Developing portable skills and knowledge makes us more valuable to our present as well as future employers.

Improving our interpersonal skills, specific competencies, negotiation abilities, etc. will help us add value wherever we work-whether it’s for someone else or for ourselves. Learning these traits builds confidence and makes us more marketable.

The uncertainty and insecurity so endemic in today’s world compels us to save more and spend less. When the world was more predictable and our future’s more secure there was less need to save. This has changed. Pensions are pretty much a thing of the past; frequent job change is normal; periods of employment are more common; a desire for independence seems stronger.

These truths create the need for more savings than ever before. Money in the bank is a very welcome reality when we are in between jobs or worried about the one we have.
As is true for investing diversifying our income sources is a smart strategy.

Developing sources of income outside our job can help us sleep better at night. Examples include: real estate, small businesses, hobbies that can produce income, etc. These outside interests must be something we love to do because they will eat into our free time but there is tangible payback if the right one can be found.

No longer can we expect our feeling of security to be handed to us, wrapped in a guarantee. Like so much else in life our feeling of security is up to us.