Some media reports have been chirping positively about the recovering economy. However, there continue to be reports of layoff rounds going through and gutting the staffs of large and small companies across the nation. Clearly, though the economy may be improving, pink slips are still an all too common sight as businesses continue to struggle to carry on. These layoff rounds are stressful for everyone involved; those in positions of authority must make the difficult decision on who to let go of next, current employees must constantly worry about being targeted for elimination, and, of course, those who are laid off and are losing their primary source of income. Many employees who have been laid off have been working with the company for years. However, there are ways to ensure that you do not become a casualty in the next round of layoffs.
One of the most important ways to keep your job in the struggling economy is to do your work. This may sound simple enough, but doing your work is the single most powerful thing that you can do to prove that you are valuable to the organization. Do not come into the office late or constantly leave early. Stay exactly as long as you are supposed to. When you come into the office, do not waste copious amounts of valuable time by gabbing around the water cooler. After all, when your boss sees that you are working hard throughout the day, it sends a signal that you truly care about your job. However, keep in mind that just logging in extra hours does not mean a thing if you are not using those extra hours to be productive. For example, if you come in an hour early and leave an hour late every day but fail to get any real work done in the meantime, then being glued to your seat for all that extra time will not mean a thing to your employers.
But as important as it is to work hard, you should also be careful to not overwork yourself. Only ask for extra assignments and extra responsibility if you can truly handle it. If you constantly overwork yourself, you will more than likely grow to resent your job, inevitably causing your performance to dip when it otherwise would not have. If you can handle extra work, however, make it a point to ask for it. This will show your employer that you are willing to tackle more assignments for the good of the company. When businesses everywhere are cutting staff sizes to minimize their losses, it is important that you stay focused on your responsibilities as well as occasionally offer your services to others so that you are seen as an integral and irreplaceable member of your organization’s team.
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