How to Deal with Concerns About Your Job Security

There are times in our career when we experience concerns about the security of our job and wonder if we’ll still be employed in the next few weeks. For example, your company might be struggling financially, or has recently gone through a restructuring or round of layoffs or is in the process of a merger.

These situations always bring about a great deal of uncertainty and can lead to anxiety in the workplace and fears about the future.

But there are ways to make these situations more manageable and allow you to deal with concerns about job security in a healthy way.

Get your finances in order. Hopefully, you’re not waiting until a crisis to get your finances in order. And by, in order, we mean ensuring that you have a budget in place, your income is greater than your expenses, you’re saving money, and you are contributing to a retirement plan. Having a sense of financial security can ease the stress of anxiety related to your job and future employment.

Avoid gossip. Stay away from the speculation about the company and what might happen. There will always be a lot of people with opinions in your company but many of them are not informed opinions and only serve to stir up controversy. Avoid the people in your company who are gossiping and sharing information that might or might not be true.

Maintain good communication. On the other hand, maintain good communication with your immediate supervisor and be sure to discuss any concerns you have about the company and its direction. Let your manager know you and the team would appreciate regular updates on the merger, state of the industry, or whatever the specific situation your company is going through.

Focus on your health. Take care of yourself, both mentally and physically. If you’re experiencing some depression or anxiety, seek out the help of a professional. Get enough sleep, reduce or eliminate alcohol intake, get some physical exercise, and focus on maintaining an optimistic approach to your life and work.

Deepen your network. At any time in your career there should be attention paid to developing and deepening your network. Having a healthy and robust system of support is always helpful to your life and career.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 8 Tips to Fast-Track Your Career

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 8 Tips to Fast-Track Your Career: "Know where your organization/industry is going and understand what you can contribute to making your team more successful. Make sure your supervisor sees you as an asset."
• 5 Ways to Tackle Job Insecurity: "If you've been neglecting your network for a while, now is the time to reconnect. Don't wait until you need to call in a favor. It's also a good idea to expand your network by attending events or joining a professional association."
• 13 Time Management Tips for Success: "One of the biggest mistakes is just doing whatever comes your way instead of having exact times when you will do certain things in your week. Discipline and planning is required if you want to achieve your career goals."
• 7 Interview Questions That Determine Emotional Intelligence: "Curiosity and the desire to learn are vital signs that a prospective employee wants to get better at something."
• How to Dress for Your Next Job Interview: "Whether you like it or not, your appearance is the first thing people notice about you–and the hiring managers first impression may play a big part in his or her hiring decision."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Is it Time to Quit Your Job?

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

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• Should You Quit Your Day Job?: "Playing it safe and not taking chances to stretch yourself, means that in 2-3 years you’ll be exactly the same person as you are today. This sends a signal to recruiters and hiring managers that you have plateaued."

• 9 Ways to Win Over Your Boss: "If something isn’t at the top of your list but your boss expresses that it’s a priority – then it immediately becomes your priority, too."                                                      
• The Most Important 15 Minutes of My Day: "I’m a huge fan of highly regimented creativity – a notion that seems paradoxical, I know. But it works."


• How to Build an Ironclad Network: "Your request for a conversation must be sincere and free of hidden agendas. You will not ask for a job, you won't even mention the word job during your conversation."


• 5 Tricks to Starting a Business While Working Full Time: "If you haven't already realized that there's no true job security, now is a good time to start thinking about how you could bring in additional streams of revenue."

Keep Layoffs at Bay

During market downturns, job security becomes a concern for many. While you have no guarantees of keeping your job during tough economic times, some work practices may help you to avoid layoffs. Try focusing on work traits and practices that employers value, like the following:

Be the “Go To” Expert

There is definite value in having expertise in a functional area within the organization and being the “go to” person for this expertise. Besides possessing the know-how, being reliable and easy to work with can make you uniquely valuable to the organization. Think about ways to increase your knowledge, skills, and reliability within a particular area.

Build Solid Work Relationships

Build good, strong work relationships across the organization and with clients and vendors as well. When teamed with expertise, solid work relationships can be key to keeping your job during a downsizing.

Help Your Manager Achieve Goals

Be aware of your manager’s job responsibilities and goals. In what ways can you help them achieve those goals, minimize challenges, or reduce his/her workload? Be the person on your manager’s team who offers help, consistently delivers quality work, and is dependable.

Be a Team Player

Work well with others and demonstrate a positive attitude. It is important that you are viewed as a team player, not only by your manager, but by others throughout the organization.

Positively Impact the Bottom Line

When it comes time to eliminate staff, management often considers how much each employee contributes to the bottom line. No matter what job you have, you can find ways to help save money or increase business. For example, take initiative to fine tune a process for identifying new customers or reduce spending by negotiating better vendor prices.