Living Without Job Security: Afraid of Being Fired From Your Job?

Do you know what really bothers me about my co-workers? Their fear of being fired. Now, I understand that this is a legitimate fear, because many things are at stake if you lose your place of employment: you can't pay the bills, you can't do the things you really want to, you can't eat, you can't pay the rent, lose your benefits, etc. Nobody wants to hear from their boss that he or she is being let go.

So, even though I understand this fear, what bugs me about other employees talking about this fear is that they could talk about it a little too much! "Oh, don't do that, or you'll get fired; watch out, or you'll be written up for that; ah man, I thought I was going to get fired because I did this; be careful about this person, because he/she could get you fired." It goes on and on, and you just get sick of hearing it.

Now, once again, I understand a person's fear of being fired. Like I said, many things are at stake if you lose your job. But do you want to work at a place where you are driven by the fear of termination? Do you want to work at a place where your supervisors subtly instill that fear? Do you want to go to a place everyday and feel that you just have to be careful or else?

Going to work, believe it or not, should be enjoyable. You should feel comfortable working where you do. You should feel that you could approach your supervisors with any concerns. But okay, in reality, you may not always have the best supervisors and you may not always enjoy your work, but one thing you should not be concerned with is being fired. In fact, that should not even come to mind. Being fired is definitely not, or shouldn't be, the first thing on an employer's mind and it shouldn't be on yours.

FIRING IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

Any employer with good sense would know that firing a person is bad for business, especially if the employer usually has a hard time hiring folks. Hiring is very time-consuming if you consider the applications you need to read, the applications you need to weed out, the interviewing, the training, etc. Some employers go through a lengthier hiring process than others, and the lengthier the process, the less practical it is to terminate someone out of the blue.