The oil cap and the Arizona border are still porous; though it seems like the oil flow might actually stop soon. Other than that, it seems like business as usual.
Yesterday I mentioned that a friend recently raised a subject I thought interesting, so some ideas follow. We were discussing employment, and the current record numbers out of work. The question came up of how and where most people look for jobs, and general attitudes toward employers. And when we were in mid-discussion he told me he thought my attitude was alien to most, but worth blogging about.
What I told him was that after the age of eighteen or so I’d always worked for myself. Now, that didn’t mean I started businesses or worked alone. What I meant was, wherever I happened to land in a job, the first thing I did was to assess the working environment. If I liked the place, and especially the people I stayed. If not I quit. Sometimes I told the employer about my resignation, sometimes I didn’t –it depended on whether I liked them or not.
If I decided to stay with an employer the next step was to secure insurance. I don’t mean health or life insurance which I didn’t care about at all back then because I wasn’t planning on getting sick or kicking the bucket for years and years to come. The kind of insurance I’m talking about related to guaranteeing my continued employment and it’s something you don’t buy from a provider, it’s something you get for yourself.
The way my own job insurance plan worked was, I learned my job inside out. Most often, especially in the early years that wasn’t too hard to do. So, after I mastered my work, I learned as much as I could about everybody elses endeavors, and especially watched their attitudes. I could spot the losers and slackers at higher levels from miles away, and if I wanted promotion and was patient, I’d simply wait for them to blow out. And, since I’d already done all my homework regarding stepping up, my promotion was a shoo-in.
So, the harder I worked and the more I learned the farther and faster I went. And, then there came a point where my work ethic and skills had so much value, I was almost bullet-proof regarding termination. Employers couldn’t afford to let me go because I was one of a continually decreasing number in the work-force that actually “worked.” I also knew and understood their businesses inside out. Thus, in that regard, all the effort I put in was for myself, because it guaranteed my getting what I wanted. And if workplace “A” didn’t provide it, I simply moved on to workplace “B.” It might have been inconvenient to re-start, but it was generally worth it overall.
Eventually though, I moved into sales and that was the epitome of self-employment regardless of who signed the checks. Because if I knew my product the employer didn’t matter at all…except for the deadbeats, high-rollers, fast-talkers, frauds and crooks, so I avoided working for them. But, if a provider was reputable and could deliver as promised it really didn’t matter to me who they were. Especially since I called on customers at their places of business not ours, so I’m the only “employee” most of them ever saw or met.
And I guess this is where my friend feels that I think differently than most other folks, because they’re usually so concerned about the security of their jobs and their vulnerability to an employer’s fancies or whims. But although I can understand some degree of concern, invaluable employees are invaluable no matter, and most successful employers aren’t flat-out stupid regardless of how dumb they look. Therefore, most will retain everyone of real value.
The only real wrinkle in a solid, dedicated work ethic and its value today is the trend toward business acquisition and merger. Because you have organizations buying or joining others that they not only can’t manage, they don’t really understand an iota about. So, in those situations employees in the acquired entitys have little to no value at all, except in very rare cases, because the acquirer doesn’t often know or care. Then again, it doesn’t really matter much because those deals tend to blow up really quick and everyone on both sides is soon out of a job.
I guess then, what it all boils down to in most cases is, who does what for who. And if folks pull their weight and prove necessary they’ll generally survive no matter what. On the other hand, if they’re readily replaceable, dead weight or don’t really add value they’re likely vulnerable. So then, who should be afraid of what, an employee never reaching a level where the employer was concerned about losing them, or an employer fearing that a top-performer might walk out? As for myself, my money’s always been on the performer.
That’s it for today folks.
Adios
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