'Working Wounded': Fear of Losing Your Job
— -- D E A R R E A D E R S: I've started to survey every audience that I talk to about their biggest headaches at work. From Anaheim to Atlanta and from Syracuse to Seattle the results have been remarkably consistent. So I'm going to devote all of the Working Wounded columns for the month of April to the top five concerns I'm hearing.
This week, we'll cover the fifth-most common headache — fear of losing your job.
We're a nation that just loves to "super-size" it. Whether it's a meal or an SUV, bigger is better. For this we have David Wallerstein to thank. In the 1960s, he worked for a movie theater and no matter what he tried, he couldn't induce people to buy more than one drink and one bag of popcorn.
Why? He found that most people felt like they were overeating if they had seconds. But they didn't feel bad when they had one huge serving. Based on the ever-growing American waistline, David knew what he was talking about.
However, when it comes to your job today, "Wallerstein's rule" doesn't apply. We have to end our dreams of having one big job and get prepared for career seconds, thirds and even fourths. This requires a different approach to our careers — one where we're all constantly upgrading our skills and always keeping an eye out for what's next. I've listed strategies below to help do that. For more, check out Cliff Hakim's We Are All Self-Employed (Berrett Koehler, 1994).
A friend of mine sums up his career philosophy by saying, "I always try to be a little bit thirsty." Given the super-sized nature of drinks today, it's not always easy, but it's a requirement given today's economy.
Online Ballot and Contest
Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot: What kind of buy-in do you get at work?
They give me the back of their hand, 10.5 percent I've got them in the palm of my hand, 23.6 percent The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, 65.7 percent
Winning Strategy
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