Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Doing more to keep your job

Posted on January 27, 2009January 27, 2009 by Staff

By Margot C. Lester
Staff Writer

Misery may love company, but griping with your colleagues isn’t the most effective way to deal with the threat of layoffs.

“While it is human nature to participate in water cooler discussions, you need to stay focused on the job at hand,” says David Hemmer, president and COO of Career Partners International, an international counseling service based in Chapel Hill. “How you handle this difficult time will reflect on your supervisors’ view of you.”

With pink slips as common as candy wrappers, kvetching is the easy way out – and I do mean out. Instead of complaining or worrying about your status, take control of it. Contrary to what you may think, there are ways to reduce your chances of getting laid off – and improve the odds of getting a good recommendation if you do. Here’s how:
Cultivate on-the-job relationships: “Be the kind of help to your boss that you would like to have from someone working for you,” counsels Jim Weinstein, a Washington D.C.-based life consultant. “To be clear, I am not talking about brown-nosing here – I’m talking about making genuine contributions rather than appearing to make them, or taking credit for contributions that are not yours, which will probably infuriate those around you and create ill will that you certainly don’t need at this precarious time. Be a contributor to the superior functioning of your team or department. A team member who smoothly interacts with others is a lot less trouble, and therefore more valuable, than someone who has prickly relationships with his co-workers.”

Focus on your value: The biggest mistake many people make is assuming they’re a top performer already, according to Linda Conklin, manager of alumni career services at UNC. “People get complacent in their jobs – not so much in what they’re doing, but in making sure their managers know what they’re doing. Know what you do to add value and tell your boss.” Regularly ask yourself (and then tell your boss): What are your accomplishments? What needs to be done and how can you do it? Are you in alignment with what your boss wants?

Choke back the bile: Your attitude toward your work will have a direct impact on your output, and therefore your value. “Most employees are being asked by their firms to do more, often for less compensation. And this, quite naturally, can foster bitterness and anger,” Weinstein notes. “Nonetheless, it is crucial to make consistent efforts to rid yourself of these emotions. Easier said than done? Yes, absolutely. But don’t for a minute think you can’t influence your state of mind towards your employer. Take an inventory of your resentments and what you perceive to be unfair at work. Then notice how much time you spend focusing on this inventory as opposed to another you need to take: what are all of the good things about your job. By remaining vigilant throughout the day for the tendency to focus on the half-empty, rather than the half-full, glass, you can start to shift the balance in a direction that will not only foster less anger, but will also bring you greater job satisfaction.”

Continue to develop yourself: Staying current with your certifications and adding to your knowledge and skills bases can help you increase your value to the organization. Read industry journals, stay up on trends affecting customers, attend classes offered by trade groups or other organizations. All this allows you to be “the primary expert in some area of the company’s work or operation,” says John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the Chicago-based international jobs expert. “Ask yourself this: ‘Will your work still be done if you’re not there? If the answer’s no, if there’s no back-up, it’d be awfully hard for them to let you go.”

Each of these ideas requires some degree of extra work and time, but in today’s shaky job market it is well worth making that investment.
“Consistently working on them, or at least keeping them in mind, will most certainly raise your value at work, and consequently increase your job security,” Weinstein says.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme