Job security has become redundant.
As redundant as typing pools, facsimile machines and France Telecom.
We live in a world where CEOs are rewarded for big profits, not happy employees. And guess what is a easy trip to profit increases or justifiable in the face of bankruptcy? Job cuts.
No matter how safe you think you are, your job can disappear like a puff of smoke in a strong wind. Public sector workers, swallow that snort of superiority. You can be sent home too.
As a result, I realised that maybe, just maybe, we don’t need job security. What we actually need is income security.
This is not a new concept by any means. In fact, “multiple streams of income” is the millennial phrase of the 2010-2020 decade.
However, sometimes, we just need to hear an unoriginal idea in an original way.
In this vein, I’m going to try to pivot the idea of income as your life-blood, instead of job security, in a slightly different way. If I’m going to say what everyone else has said in exactly the same fashion, what’s the point eh?
Exactly.
First things first, let’s start with your mindset. Because you know I’m all about what’s happening between your ears.
It’s All in Your Mind
Your brain wants you to be safe.
It is designed for your safety. For example, the more uncertain things are, the more stressed we become, according to this study.
Except that you’re not assessing the likelihood of being mauled by a bear or running from animals in a forest for survival.
These times require money for survival.
In a world where we have been conditioned to associate a job with money and money with safety, what is more stressful than not having job security?
The key phrase in that sentence is “we have been conditioned to associate a job with safety“.
The problem is that a job doesn’t provide us with safety friends. Because you are not in control of whether or not you have a job. You could be the best performer and still be out on your bum within 6 months.
Instead of job security, you need income security.
That might be a lot to take in. So take a deeeeeep breath, because I don’t want you to feel stressed.
However, I do want you to think about your job in a different way. A job is a source of income. Nevertheless, it’s probably inaccurate to describe a job as a secure source of income.
It may not be.
Money on Your Mind
Even if you accept theoretically that job security is a modern unicorn, your entrenched views on money may not allow you to fully embrace the concept.
These beliefs may show up in an unconscious cycle of money-sabotage. If you’re wondering, ‘Could this be me?’, ask yourself a few questions:
Do you believe that it is hard to get money?
If you don’t work hard for money, does that mean you don’t deserve it?
Do you think that you should have money?
Are people with money bad or evil?
Is having money bad or evil?
There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions: only your answers. If you don’t like your answers, a certified coach could probably help you get to the root of your beliefs and chart a way forward.
My final thoughts on money for your reading pleasure: in the hands of my granny, a car is a transportation device; in the hands of an extremist, it is a killing machine. The car is not good or bad: its use can be categorized as good or bad, according to your moral compass. The same could be said about money.
Chew on that cud for a bit.
Squeeze Every Last Drop from Your Paycheck
If you choose to see your financial security as your income, rather than your job, everything changes. And by ‘everything’, I mean your perspective.
Job security becomes passé.
Those income-coloured glasses should reveal that one of the keys to financial security is maximizing your job income. This doesn’t necessarily mean jostling for a promotion either. It means making the most of what you have.
There are a couple ways to do this.
Firstly, consider whether you can earn two incomes from the same job activity.
One activity may have the potential for multiple streams of income.
For example, if you are a nail technician, you could consider creating a YouTube channel where you film yourself performing manicures. The channel could bring you advertising revenue and more clients.
If you are a journalist, you could consider publishing your most famous columns in a book (provided you own the copyright to the work).
Secondly, minimize your taxes.
The less money you pay in taxes, the more income you take home.
Consider whether you have appropriately avoided taxes (not evaded, that’s illegal).
This would require you to understand the tax code of your country or hire a great accountant.
Lastly, be smart with your expenses.
Don’t confuse this point with being frugal.
I’m not suggesting that you spend as little as possible. I’m suggesting that you spend your money where it counts.
For instance buying a high quality winter coat will probably cost you. But not as much as doctor’s bills will, if you catch a cold.
FYI, you can check out this post for more tips on smart expenditure.
Become a poly-earner
The main disadvantage of equating financial security as job security is the tenuous nature of the corporate job. As we have seen, anybody can be on the chopping block.
Thus, the most important aspect of income security is creating income from more than one source.
I like to call this poly-earning. Mostly because “multiple streams of income” is too cumbersome to repeat.
Note to self: if ‘poly-earning’ becomes one of those buzzwords, remember, you saw it here first.
Millennials certainly did not invent poly-earning, but we have really taken it to another level in the Internet age.
In my view, poly-earning should be diversified and passive. In other words, if you’re not making money from a variety of sources while you sleep, what’s the point?
You may be wondering, why diversified? Well, variety is important for financial security. If one income source goes ka-put, you should have another. It’s the same principle behind a diversified investment portfolio (which should be a tool in the kit of any poly-earner).
Speaking of tool kits, in addition to a diversified investment portfolio, a poly-earner usually has a profitable side hustle(s) as well.
This may seem like a lot of work. It is. If you don’t want to burn yourself out, think about setting up a side hustle that will eventually require minimum input from you or that you can hire someone to manage. Otherwise, you just have two jobs.
Sooo…do you need job security? Or not?
Ultimately, you are the only person who can determine your financial future. Whether you do so with job security in mind, or income security at the forefront, is up to you.
If this whole income security thing seems overwhelming, just take it one step at a time. Consider hiring someone to help. A good financial planner can be worth their weight in gold. I also have the greatest respect for accountants and tax professionals. Let them do their thing.
Do you think job security is the ticket to a bright future?
Comment below and let me know! (See how I did a little rhyme there?)
Until the next post, go forth and be awesome.