How To Keep Your Job In Uncertain Times

how to keep your job

With retrenchments being announced around the world, workers are understandably concerned about keeping their jobs. Suddenly there is no more guarantee that you will have a job tomorrow, that your office desk will still be yours next month. Living in such uncertainty can be daunting.

Some of us self-employed workers have voluntarily lived with that kind of uncertainty for years – not knowing whether there will be work the following month or how much the next paycheck will be. Planning ahead to remain relevant is a way of life, and perhaps some of the following coping strategies may help you if you are worried about the future of your job.

photo credit: gabyu

1. Add visible value

Every worker in a company arguably adds value, else they wouldn’t be there in the first place, right? Well, it becomes very clear who is seen to add value when the crunch comes and companies have to decide who to keep. Not every one adds value, and not everyone does so visibly. Salespeople add the most visible value, since their contributions are measured in dollars and cents which go straight to the company’s bottom line.

If you are not in sales but are in the front line, written endorsements may count for something – if customers have sung your praises in feedback forms, your value to the company is visible. If you have received thank you cards from customers or colleagues you have helped, you could display these at your work station, tacky as this sounds. You never know which manager may walk past and be reminded of the value you have added.

Even if this doesn’t work, you will feel good about yourself because those reminders will work on you too. Whatever happens, you will know that if you added value once, you can do it again. This confidence, more than anything else, may be what you need right now to tide you through this period.

2. Offer to accept less temporarily

Companies are struggling to cover costs right now. If a family were in financial trouble, each member would try to help in some way. Think of your company as an extended family where a similar interdependence applies. Consider going to your supervisor or management and offer to accept a lower pay package during this challenging time, or offer to take unpaid leave if necessary. You could also take the initiative to get a group of colleagues to accompany you, as this would have more impact.

If your name ever came up as a candidate for retrenchment, this offer may be remembered and a compassionate management may take you up on your offer instead of letting you go altogether. And if your name never came up, then your offer will still be remembered and you will have shown that you threw your lot in with the company in tough times.

3. Show a reasonably positive attitude

When morale is low, people often work less hard or with less enthusiasm, take longer lunch breaks, and huddle in groups to talk about the “what ifs” and share the latest rumours. While all this is quite understandable, participating in these activities will not help you stand out as the star employee any company would want to keep. You can choose to continue giving your best instead of succumbing to the prevailing negativity.

In theatrical circles there is a well-known saying: “The show must go on.” It is this attitude that separates the professional actors from the unknown ones. Whatever is happening around them, the true professionals carry on acting, singing, ad libbing if necessary, holding the show together when the other actors are panicking and forgetting their lines. A star shines brightest when all around is dark. You can prove your mettle during tough times.

Of course, even if you do all this, sometimes life is unfair and the axe falls anyway. In that case, you are still better off for having done the above. It will be easier to ask for an excellent reference if you have done your part to be an excellent employee. Most likely you will keep your job and be remembered for the way you performed during this crisis. In the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling, it helps to “keep your head when all about you are losing theirs.”



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Posted by Daphne | November 17, 2008 | in Work Hard


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  • Beaulotus: Hi Daphne, it’s precisely that – that they didn’t have anything better to do with their time and lives. Those few mums...
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