“Working for government provides you with the most secure job on earth. The government can never go bankrupt!”

“Why don’t you apply for a job at X Corporation? It is the largest in town and offers the most benefits you can have.”

I am sure you have encountered remarks such as these from some well-meaning friends and relatives who are very much concerned about your future. I got the same advice, especially during my early years of work.

Their message is clear: Get a secure job and stay there until retirement.

Did you follow their suggested path?

Well, not me. Five years after I finished college, I’ve been to six different employers. I’ve never ever attempted to try and submit a job application to any government agency (deemed to be the most secure institution.) I noticed that I have never stayed for a single company for over a year. Believe me, it doesn’t look good on the resume. I guess luck plays tricks on me during the first five years of my career. I was unfortunate to have experienced first hand the harsh reality of the job market. At the same time, I was lucky that early on I have learned to equip myself with the right tools to use against future devastations that might come.

Over the course of years since I started working, I have tested the conventional idea of job security against actual events and experiences encountered by people who held those beliefs. This plus the actual experiences I had as a career guy allow me to uncover the myth called job security.

Security Hates Change and vice-versa
Change is an essential component in the dynamics of business that could greatly challenge the way one thinks about work. The wave of economy fluctuates. Your company merges with another and somehow the work force has to be re-organized or, at worst, retrenched. Your boss has been transferred to another branch and replaced by someone who thinks he is in command over a battalion of brainless soldiers in the battle. Competition is threatening your company to be out of business soon.

These are a few examples showing an employee’s helplessness in the face of change. Instead of holding dearly to your erroneous concept of security, you will be better off embracing change and improving yourself to better serve the society.

Security Blinds You From The Opportunities Outside
In their quest for job security, a lot of employees can’t even dare to open their eyes to the opportunities available outside. This is especially true to employees who have acquired a regular status in their job. In spite of the fact that bigger salaries and greater opportunities for professional growth are possible in another company, they cling even stronger to their present comfort zones. Try to ask them why and they will share alibis like:

“I am loyal to my company.”
“I am already 35 years old, married and have school-age children.”
“I can’t do it; I’m still single.”

Security Can Kill Your Company
Most people who value job security are usually the ones who are hesitant to improve themselves and contribute to the company, because — what a heck – they are already secure. Companies are brilliant to spot that such attitude is detrimental to their business. Schemes such as early retirement programs and working on a contract basis are, in reality, devices to shield the company from the burden of paying unproductive workers.

Heller Keller made an intelligent observation when she wrote that “Security does not exist in nature.” Security is largely an illusion. To feel secure, your first job is to give up on the illogical idea of security.