Financial security. Career stability. On the most basic level it’s what we all work for—the ability to hit the pillow at night knowing we are, and will continue to be, able to provide. It’s easy to think that once you’ve got a corporate job and a substantial paycheck, you’re set. But in this day and age, that’s a myth.
The fact is, the kind of career security and financial stability provided by corporate employers gets more fickle and fleeting with every passing year. As a franchise consultant who’s worked with countless candidates who got caught unprepared by corporate moves that pushed them down or out, I know from experience that if you want true career and income stability, you might want to start thinking about building it for yourself.
A corporate job is supposed to be a “sure thing,” the vocation that keeps you from having to worry about long term security. The fact is, today’s workforce warrior changes jobs an average of twelve times. Sure, some of those changes are self-initiated—moving up, moving on. Others, however, are forced. Let’s take a look at five of the biggest reasons those forced changes happen, which are also the five biggest reasons your corporate job may not be all that secure.
5 Job Security Concerns
1. New Leadership
Mergers are on the rise. We’ve seen more than $2.5 trillion in corporate mergers to date—yes, that’s a record. Mergers and acquisitions inevitably lead to reorganizing, to eliminating duplicate positions, to an in-with-the-new-and-out-with-the-old mentality. The hardest hit folks are often in management.
This year alone I’ve seen multiple instances of companies that marked their mergers by eliminating entire levels—all the directors, for example, or even all the VPs. No one is bulletproof in a merger situation—least of all middle and upper management employees who once seemed to have all the job security in the world.
2. Old-Fashioned Downsizing
Reorganizations eliminate executive positions. So does garden-variety corporate belt-tightening. The days of “fat” corporations are coming to an end, and many are trying to prove they’re lean by getting rid of jobs—and employees—who are perceived to be dispensable.
This happens every day in every industry, not just to the kind of worker who doesn’t pull his or her weight, but also to strong contributors whose positions are identified as somehow dispensable.
3. Arbitrary Achievement Bars
We all know someone who’s seen a career chapter end with the simple brutality of, “You didn’t make your numbers.” In today’s business world, we frequently encounter Moneyball-style trends towards metrics above all else. Too often, these systems put the numbers above the people, even ousting consistent performers who’ve hit temporary rough patches and missed inflated objectives.
4. Pushing Top Earners Out
Hand in hand with the ouster of perceived under-achievers are all the subtle and not-so-subtle ways many corporations work to push out seasoned—and highly compensated—managers and executives, often with an eye to replacing them with someone younger and cheaper to employ.
5. Contracting and Outsourcing
These two ways of getting business done are here to stay in what is increasingly our gig economy. Somewhere out there is a contractor or freelancer who’s willing and eager to do the kind of work you do without demanding the security of a steady paycheck, paid insurance and time off, or tax contributions.
This is a trend that’s here to stay, especially as millennials pour into the workforce looking for work that offers more flexibility and freedom than was ever possible in the corporate structure of just a decade or two ago.
What You Can Do About Job Security Concerns?
So what can you do about it? If true career and income stability can’t be found on the corporate ladder, then where?
If you have your own business, it’s yours to control. Your fate is in your hands. More and more I see smart, successful individuals from the corporate world choosing to start businesses while still holding onto their corporate jobs. They’re positioning themselves for future security, one logical, methodical step at a time.
Job security isn’t always as it seems, and we all owe it to ourselves to build true stability for ourselves. Start with a franchise.
Ready to consider taking the first step to HIRE YOURSELF? We are here to help you find the best franchise match for you.
