Job security is something that employees and unemployed people deal with at least once in their life. For the vast majority of people, low job security is very stressful. Not surprisingly, being dismissed is one of the most stressful events in one’s life according to the Holmes-Rahe Stress Life Stress Inventory which ranks events or conditions based on their impact towards health. Coupled with other difficulties, a person who has recently lost a job has a high chance of experiencing a major health problem.
The last “great recession” has certainly left a bad taste in the mouths of many who have experienced being laid off, underemployment, unemployment, or low job security. The trauma caused often makes employees wary of their future financial health and the economic conditions of global markets can easily bring up bad memories. The stress caused is so great, that some turn to vices such as alcohol and drugs to cope, only worsening their lives and perpetuating a never-ending cycle into homelessness.
While such a bleak picture seems unfortunate and a problem generated from society, others might argue that failure in employment and the resulting downfall is a personal problem caused by someone who lacks resolve. A lot of these generalizations are purely political. From a psychological and scientific perspective, stress due to job security is a very real problem that affects many people in varying ways.
In the perspective of an employer, stress caused by low job security is a personal problem of an employee, right? Wrong. Low job security is a major problem for employers. While stress isn’t always a bad thing, chronic stress due to job security causes major problems for organizations.
Low job security wrecks productivity
In order for an employee to be at the top of their game, they need all of their focus on increasing their performance and productivity as well as their teams. Unnecessary stress from having to worry about their future in the company can lead to undesirable behavior.
For one, behavior is affected by many environmental variables. In the language of DISC, a behavioral assessment system, a person has two profiles. One profile is their natural behavioral style. This is a part of their unique personality. They are born with it and develop it over time. The other profile is their adapted behavioral style. This profile is shaped by their environment and can change from one extreme to another based on external stimuli. In the case of low job security, their adapted profile can alter greatly. When a well performing employee has a drastic change in their observable behavior, there is a high chance that their job performance will change as well.
How does this change in behavior affect job performance? Each job has a unique set of optimal behavioral profiles. A high performing employee does well because of their set of behaviors. After all, many people try to hire people with the right behavior for the job. When their behavioral profile changes, so does their optimal performance because their behavior is no longer fit for the role.
For an example, think of a creative director for an ad agency. Their success hinges on their ability to take bold risks and outdo other agencies. Many of the best creatives thrive on risk-taking. When they strike the jackpot, their risk-taking pays off and feeds their natural behavioral profile. When their job is suddenly in question, their behavioral profile shifts. They stop taking risks. They play it safe. Messing up would definitely result in dismissal in their minds. They do what every other ad agency does and struggle to stand out. Eventually, it leads to their demise and does nothing for the organization they serve.
The same goes for a hiring manager. In this case, not only does individual performance suffer, but organizational performance can also take a hit. When managers must hire people under low job security conditions, they tend to want to hire people who are weaker than themselves. They don’t want some new, fresh face to outshine them in knowledge, skills, and experience. That would get them on the chopping block sooner than later, they tell themselves. So, as a result, they hire mediocre people with little ambition for meeting organizational goals and pushing them to new heights.
What a shame.
Low job security is caused by a failure in the hiring process
While low job security can be caused by industry-specific economic conditions, regulatory changes, and technological advances, there are many factors that are caused internally.
Namely, the biggest contribution to low job security is a botched up hiring process.
The two biggest failures in the hiring process is, one, hiring the wrong person, and two, providing a poor onboarding experience.
As mentioned before, each position calls for an employee to have an optimum behavioral profile in order to have peak performance. You wouldn’t want a hotheaded, risk taker to have the keys for nukes, right? Likewise, you would want a reserved person to be a receptionist.
Unfortunately, time and time again, people are recruited solely based on their “skills and experience.” Oh, yeah, this guy has had ten years of nuke keys experience. He’ll be a great asset to the organization! Give me a break. Behavior and motivational forces often trump skills and experience.
Now, going back to the problem here, when the wrong person is hired, they try to alter their behavior which isn’t natural or unconsciously alter it, causing stress and lowering performance. In addition to this, their growing lack of confidence when constantly failing at tasks contributes to a sense of doom. They worry that their low performance will result in dismissal which in many ways is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The second big failure here comes from a bad onboarding experience. New employees must be trained, not only for skills but how to adapt to other team members. They must learn communication channels and be empowered with resources. And also, they must also be able to find their place in the organization.
A proper job benchmarking process will avoid both failures.
Another big contributing factor to low job security is poor communication. Different behavioral profiles often clash. This results in unwanted adaptation. In addition to this is the lack of communication.
In many cases, not knowing what is going on is stressful enough. For many contract workers, a lot of them have little clue about their future job security when they are working on short term contracts. This leads to considerably poor job performance as apathy sets in.
What you can do
Doing the best to prevent a feeling of low job security is best. In many cases, it can’t be avoided. Companies go under all the time. The environment changes. People perform poorly and must be dismissed.
What you can do is be transparent. This opens up communication which can change the perception of job security. It leads to discussion and can help alleviate fear and speculation.
Explain recent dismissals. Why was someone fired? Tell the truth. Don’t make others fear that they too might be in the firing line when they didn’t do anything bad.
Encourage hiring rock stars. The best of the best know how to hire people smarter than themselves. Reward people who bring in talent. Don’t make them feel like their will be replaced by the person they hired.
These are just a few things you can do. If you have any additional ideas we would love to hear them in the comments below.