What is Job Security?
In the past most people went through their education, found a job of their liking and worked at it for most if not all their career years. Changes were minimal and most people only took on new roles within an organization or affiliated companies. Today however, most people are lucky to work in one organization for a duration that exceeds five years. Economic and personal factors are the two main reasons for this rapid change in employment though there are a number of other causes. Where as personal factors are completely within the control of the employee, most other factors are beyond the control of the employee. This is where the issue of job security comes into play.

Job security is basically the chances you have of keeping your job. Those with job security have a higher chance of keeping their jobs while those without job security are more likely to loose their jobs. Economic factors will usually have the greatest impact on the level of job security in a particular market at a particular time. A declining economy will often result in job cuts and thus reduced job security. A company that is having financial difficulties, organizations looking to lower operation costs in order to improve profits and thus attract investors, reduced market share are all examples of economic situations that are likely to lead to lower job security.

A good business environment and a healthy economy are critical aspects of job security. Education, experience, specialization, performance and adaptability are all factors that will affect the job security of an individual. Those who have more of all these and other abilities, skills and qualifications have better job security. This is because these are the qualities that employers consider when deciding which employees they will retain when downsizing. There are some careers that have better job security than others. Healthcare, law enforcement and education are some of the careers that have the most job security. Public servants also tend to have greater job security as compared to those working in the private sector.

Job security will almost always affect performance. Individuals who are constantly worried about whether or not they will have a job tomorrow cannot be as productive as they ought to be. Working without worry has been proven to result in increased production and better quality results. Collective bargaining agreements and employment contracts are some of the ways through which employers can assure their employees of job security. Even though job security is today at an all time low, there are not many people looking to work at one company throughout their career. This is because there are some who are looking to hasten career progression and they know that this is not possible by staying in one place while others want to collect various experiences and then proceed to start their own businesses. Lower job security can however be a blessing for employers as it forces employees to excel in order to improve their chances of keeping their jobs.