Job security takes a hit in the workplace
By Kevin Smith, Staff Writer© Pasadena Star-News, June 14, 2009
Once upon a time, employees could afford to move around.
Like hummingbirds, they flitted from one company to the next in search of a bigger paycheck, new challenges or better working conditions.
In some cases they were simply restless, knowing full well they'd be able to land another position - usually in short order. Others were ambitious and looking to move up the corporate ladder.
But it's a different world today.
With the nation still firmly in the grip of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, businesses have jettisoned unneeded employees and pulled back on expansion plans.
Budgets have been slashed, hours cut, medical benefits reduced and mandatory furloughs imposed.
And moving around?
Most employees are scared to go anywhere. With employment opportunities greatly reduced, the idea of leaving a secure job and striking out for something new isn't exactly enticing.
"There are a couple of different things happening now," said Pete Tzavalas, vice president of the Southern California region for outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. "You have the brown-nosers and then you have the ones who are depressed."
Tzavalas cited the case of a Southland hospital that used subcontracted employees for one of its departments.
"The hospital decided they wanted to try to do it themselves, so the people that were already working there were fine because the hospital kept them on," he said. "But other employees from this `mothership' corporation were afraid they were going to lose their jobs, so everyone was moping around when they should have been stepping it up."
Others have stepped it up. In fact, they've stepped it up to the point where they are going above and beyond their job description, working with more focus and efficiency than ever before.
"People are really getting in touch with the vulnerability of their workplace," said Gary Kaplan, president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena-based executive search firm. "People are willing to work longer and harder and take on more responsibility. I don't view that kind of behavior as brown-nosing so much as just being smart. If you can make yourself more indispensable, you can greatly enhance and enrich your value to the company."
That can be good for both the employee and the company. On the downside, Kaplan said the current economic climate has made it tougher to recruit working executives for job openings at other companies.
"A large number of people are truly unhappy in their jobs because of the lack of opportunity," he said. "But they are not responsive to recruiters because there is a big fear ... a fear of being the last hired, first fired."
Kaplan said some workers adhere to the devil-I-know theory, meaning they might not like their current work environment but are scared to move to another that may be even worse.
"There is an almost universal level of anxiety out there," he said. "It's pervasive. The range of concern runs from mild to what is almost abject panic in some environments."
A July, 14, 2008, article featured on www.womensday.com offers some of the top ways employees can make themselves indispensable in the workplace.
"The number-one quality of an indispensable employee is a willingness to go above and beyond," said Bonnie Low-Kramen, a cofounder of New York Celebrity Assistants and the author of "Be the Ultimate Assistant."
Low-Kramen also advises workers to honor their commitments, be positive and build internal relationships.
