The Illusion of Job Security & Playing it Safe
Author: Nicky J. Davies |
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Categories: Business Fast Track
When I left my job in 2004 my colleagues thought I was crazy. I had a well-paid job with all the security of monthly paycheques, paid leave, car allowance…… Why would you want to leave all of this security?
The well-paid job provides the illusion of safety and security. But it never is totally safe and secure. Nothing in life truly is safe and secure. Think about how many of your friends, and maybe even you, have experienced redundancy, re-location because local job markets weren’t that great, maybe even civil war in your home country that forced you to choose to work somewhere else completely. We do what we need to do at the time.
But choosing to leave a well-paid job with no reason other than it didn’t make me happy any more seemed to ruffle people’s feathers. It was as if I was committing some kind of employment suicide. Some of my colleagues didn’t know how to handle it at all and chose not to speak to me unless they had to. Somehow, I made them feel uncomfortable because I was stepping up and choosing to do something different – start my own business. For others I could see them reviewing their own job experience and evaluating whether this was something they could do, although fear kept them stuck in the rut they were in.
Fortunately, I had a wonderful manager who was really open to me leaving with a contract in my hand! I persuaded him, and with his support the wider leadership team, that I could serve them better by being an external consultant – hence leaving with a contract in my hand.
In 2004 it seemed to be a novelty for someone in my position to leave and set up their own business in this way. Wow have things changed. Here we are in 2019 and the numbers of people around the world who are self-employed or have their own business are staggering in comparison to 2004.
As I go into large corporations and develop managers into the great leaders they have the potential to be, I find external people working alongside paid employees all the time – consultants, associates, interims, contractors…… The world of work is evolving with far more acceptability for flexible options. And yes, some countries are more forward thinking than others in this respect.
I hear new terms like ‘portfolio career’ for people who have a number of different diverse careers at one time, ‘silver-haired consultants’ for retirees who are bored silly and come back into the workplace as consultants.
So, what does this mean for you?
I would say it means you have more freedom of choice than you think.
And as long as you can provide more value that what you get paid for, AND you value yourself and everything you have to offer, you will do well outside of the regular JOB.
So why not dip a toe in the water, test out some ideas, and build something while you are still in the JOB so that you can fully step into the brave new world with some feeling of safety and security. It is liberating. One client of mine who has done this tells me she keeps pinching herself to check that this is real. She loves the freedom and flexibility of choosing how she works, who she works with, and when she works.
If this is something you would like to talk through, bounce some ideas off someone who has been on this journey for 15 years, I would be more than happy to listen and help.
It costs nothing to talk, and who knows this time next year you may be in a very different place.
Feel free to click on the link and book a Breakthrough Session with me. I look forward to hearing from you: Breakthrough Session with Nicky
Nicky works with managers who would really like more freedom in their lives. If this is you, let’s talk.