deal with workplace change

For older people who have grown up accustomed to jobs being secure and comfortable, capable of sustaining them throughout their working lives, the notion of constant change is very unsettling; but young people like Serena believe the key to survival in a job, or life itself, is to embrace change or, at the very least, to deal with it.

"It’s hard for my parents’ generation," admits Serena, "and yet it’s really just as hard on young people who want a job to last them long enough to buy the things they want to buy."

"I grew up watching my parents and their friends being hired and fired," confides Serena, "and etched into my memory banks is the simple fact that when a manager or boss wants to get rid of you then he or she has carte blanche to do so and it matters not one iota if your work and behavior are excellent."

"I often wondered why any boss would want to get rid of good workers," sighs Serena. "and dad, or mom, would tell me that some people just get tired of looking at you and want new blood."

"And then I wondered what reasons a boss gives to get rid of you when he or she has no legitimate excuse to do so," says Serena, "and dad, or mom, would tell me that mostly they’d say, even if it's not true, that there is insufficient work to justify your position."

"I saw how hurtful it was for my parents and their friends to get sacked from a job on some flimsy excuse and then to stand by while the employer hired new blood for work that wasn’t supposed to exist," explains Serena, "and I vowed that I’d never let that happen to me."

“The trick is to be the master of change – to precipitate it – rather than to passively take it.”

Read more by Serena:

Find a ladder to climb!

don't be a sitting duck

when opportunity knocks, be pro-active

don't rock the boat!

Alahna is a quietly spoken married women of 45 who believes that women are better at job survival than men are because we tend not to rock the boat so much.

"We're great people pleasers," laughs Alahna. "We just don't rock boats."

"These traits don't necessarily lead to success -- in fact they are more likely to keep us down in the ranks rather than propel us up the ladder of success," explains Alahna, "and that's a sore point with me because my husband is partially disabled and isn't bringing in very much money."

"Most of the breadwinning falls upon me," says Alahna, "so it's important that I keep my job -- and save enough to send the kids to college -- and that's why I smile rather than scowl and defer rather than argue the point over anything."

"Basically," says Alahna "female job survivors like me are simply concerned about keeping our jobs, and we will do whatever it takes to remain employed."

"Unlike most men, female job survivors don't take charge of their careers and don't take risks -- we can't afford to do so."

"Our job security needs are paramount," explains Alahna. "We are primarily interested in surviving in our jobs and we aren't interested in climbing corporate ladders."

"Most women are quite happy to stay at the bottom of the employment ladder all of their lives," sighs Alahna. "It's nice and safe down there, but not necessarily less stressful."

Alahna believes that money -- to most women workers -- is merely a means to an end. It isn't a judgment on their personal worth.

"We don't judge ourselves by the amount of money we earn -- as most men do -- and we don’t kick up a fuss if we don't get regular pay raises, " explains Alahna. "On the contrary, we're more likely to take a pay cut than jeopardize our jobs!"

"Put it this way, we are more likely to do whatever it takes in order to keep our jobs and secure a future income."

"That's why there are more unemployed men out there than unemployed women!" laughs Alahna. "Men tend to have far more pride than women."

"Also," adds Alahna, "women are better job survivors because the social fabric of the workplace is far more important to them than it is for men."

"It is probably true to say that women tend to congregate at the lower levels because that's where most of the camaraderie happens."

"The higher up you travel, the less likely you are to enjoy the company of co-workers. It gets too competitive up there."

"Depending upon the industry you're working in," says Alahna, "being on the lower levels is sometimes more of a risk than being in middle-management."

"But typical low level women's jobs -- such as secretaries and clerks and process workers -- tend to be safe across the board," adds Alahna. "If you're happy down there, and have no designs to do better, then you're likely to survive in your job indefinitely."

"As women age, though, their job survival prospects tend to lessen in lower level jobs," explains Alahna, "and this is a very good reason why women should think ahead and develop some constructive and active job survival skills."

"A passive desire not to rock the boat is not going to be enough."

"A pretty face may help our job prospects when we're young, but we're going to need a lot more going for us when we get older and find ourselves in competition with women half our age for the low level jobs."

"Ultimately, though," sighs Alahna, "the ability to work harder -- in terms of output and longer hours -- for less pay than anyone else is the clincher."

"The whole idea of women's liberation is a joke, isn't it?"