In today's world, the lines are sometimes blurred between career fields as so many market segments interact with each other in many respects. A good example is the automotive industry, one that I have a great deal of experience with, both as a customer and a consulting salesperson. The big auto-makers are connected to their supply chains like at no prior time in history.
The United Auto Workers have now gone on strike against General Motors with the central issue being job security. Job security? There is no more job security! How can any company be expected to provide such a thing? You've got to be kidding. That was my reaction when an in-depth NY Times news story detailed the situation. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said "GM can't take their eyes off the bottom line, which is lifetime job security for union members," reported Internet news source, Scrappleface.
When I was a kid, it was common to see people work their entire career for a single company, retiring after 40 years with a handsome pension. I do not believe that the term "job security" was even an issue then. It was more of a given. People assumed that their employer would take care of them. That perception is almost unheard of anymore, with many people having five or more distinct careers over their lifetime. Times have changed well beyond the imagination of anyone from that period.
Since there is no such thing as job security anymore, the UAW's expectations are totally unrealistic. What are they thinking? Even if GM wanted to grant this, they are hardly in a financial position to do so, especially right now. Employers these days compete in a global economy, subject to worldwide market forces and far-reaching economic considerations. Companies have been forced to become more efficient, to automate, to eliminate unnecessary jobs, all the while combatting escalating raw material costs, skilled labor scarcity and health-care expenses rising at 25-30% per year.
The best way for an individual to guarantee their financial security is to forget about job security and other entitlements and begin thinking about investing in their own financial security. They must learn, learn, learn; becoming an expert in a given particular field, becoming utterly invaluable to an employer or an industry.
A salesperson, for instance, with such knowledge and skills will soon become a critically important resource in her industry, always in demand and generating a handsome living. It's all about financial security, not job security. Learn to: Adapt. Adjust. Change. Listen. Stretch. Learn. Apply.
