Recession-proof Our Jobs

There are many bad news in the business world lately. We heard of many factories closed down in China, demands for goods slowed down, stock price everywhere plummeted, corporates reported losses, widespread retrenchment started, etc...most of the business news are very gloomy.

My company is no exception. They recently repositioned and rebranded themselves to focus on the recession-proof businesses. The so-called recession-proof business are human health and environmental health businesses. They want to sell off one of the core business (consumer lighting business) in Asia which will have direct impact to our Singapore operation. The employees here are generally concerned about future their job security and uncertainty in this company.

I believe retrenchment may be inevitable during bad times like this. However, as worker, we should make ourselves recession-proof so we can survive the bad times. Here are a few tips:

1. Be excellent in our job. Be a star performer. Company would not release a star performer. This is quite common sense. We should always strive for a high standard in the work we produce.
2. Be volatile and flexible. We should always be ready to take on new roles and responsibility, adapt to changes, work beyond our boundary when needed. Some people are very narrow-minded and rigid, they will never move beyond their well-defined job scope and never learn new things. These people will be the first to go when there is redundancy in the company.
3. Don't worry, be happy. Happy workers are effective in their work and they produce quality work. They are contagious and they spread their happiness to people who work with them. They build good rapport with their colleagues and bosses. In contrast, some workers are not happy. They are power-hungry and always want to be in control. They frustrate their subordinates and do not build good rapport with other colleagues and bosses. These workers are in danger during retrenchment.
4. Add value to our job. We have to innovate and improve our work daily. We must always reflect why we do what we do. Does the activity I am currently doing add value to my company's business? We should always be proactive in thinking of new ideas. We shall not wait until our boss gives us instructions.