Jobs — or the lack thereof — are in the news all day every day.  Unemployment is on the way up and today (Friday 6 February) it is 7.6%.  While this is no consolation to those of you who are among the unemployed, that number means that over 92% of us are still working.

Being a survivor at work can be stressful and the anxiety of worrying about whether or not you’re going to be next can be very wearing.  For what it’s worth, here’s some advice:

• Don’t be a “deer caught in headlights” waiting for what you think might happen.
• Use that energy to do the best job you possibly can.
• Be creative and try to come up with new ideas that can save money or help with sales.
• Pitch in wherever you see a need — whether it’s your job or not.  One of my favorite sayings about work is, “If you’re too big for a small job, then you’re too small for a big job.”  Don’t worry about your job description — do what needs to be done.
• And don’t be shy about what you’re doing.  Make sure the decision makers are aware of the contribution you’re making.

To those of you who are looking for work, I’m sorry you have to go through this.  To those of you who are still on the payroll, consider my advice.  It just might help you stay there.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 11:37 am and is filed under World of Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.