Challenging Job Security - Is it knowing your job will be here tomorrow or something more?

Job Security – One Does Not Live on Bread Alone

Don’t worry, this is not the 100th article about Covid-19 and how it’s affected the Goveance Job Market…this article is about properly defining what has certainly been brought to everyone’s attention given recent events – the importance of job security. It is a phrase thrown around quite commonly but what does it actually mean?

In a literal sense it is the confidence that your job is going to be there, tomorrow, next month or next year. Company Secretaries are often quite fortunate because, given the breadth and reach of any goveance team, it’s likely that they’re going to be there for the long haul as the goveance team are at the core of every organisation, driving and supporting key business decisions.

Personally, job security for me is knowing that yes, my role is going to be there tomorrow, but fundamentally that my current role is going to push me, allow me to develop further and teach me new skills or give me something new. Job Security means that the job will exist in the framework that allows me to be happy and fulfilled. Merely existing is not enough.

We have all seen it where someone finds themselves comfortable in their role… 3 years pass… 6 years…10 years…they have not picked up any new skills or any new responsibilities. Having remained in their current role and just counting the days. The result is that those days become harder and harder to count and before they know it any new role seems daunting, scary and just downright wrong!

I’d challenge the literal definition of ‘Job security’ and say its only secure if it is helping you reach your long-term career goals, whatever those may be. It needs to be more than just here tomorrow, it needs to be the role you want and need tomorrow as well.

Most Company Secretaries from the Assistant to Deputy level often lose track of this and found it quite shocking when I questioned them for research for this article. People in this instance need to hit reset, they need to assess their current role and effectively benchmark this against their end goal. Is this position delivering you the amount of exposure to certain goveance projects, are you working with the board, are you leading on key goveance deliverables like the AGM/Annual report? Essentially, is this job secure in offering you a challenge, training and satisfaction?

These are all things you should be considering when assessing your true job security. For those thinking long-term, it is no longer a case of Job Security but securing the future job you want. 

If you want to future-proof your long-term career ambitions, feel free to drop me a line. Whilst now may not be the time for a move actively, DMJ will concentrate on providing you the support and information so that when you are ready, we are there with options that will help you achieve your long term career goals.