Assess Whether Your Job is at Risk

How do you know whether your job is at risk?
The high unemployment rate is heightened everyone’s anxiety, but we need to remember that not everyone should be concerned. There are three factors to consider when determining whether you are at risk of losing your job: your organization’s stability, the criticality and uniqueness of your role, and your job performance in your role.


1: Assess your organization’s stability

Check all of the following you have observed:


There is a hiring freeze.SelectCancel


There is a freeze on nonessential travel. SelectCancel


Open positions are not being filled.SelectCancel


Temporary contracts are not being renewed.SelectCancel


Your company was recently acquired.SelectCancel

Your organization’s stability is a risk factor.


2 - Assess your role.

Check all of the following that seem to describe your role:

I am in a support role, as opposed to a line role.SelectCancel

My role does not directly create wealth for the organization. SelectCancel

The company could still be competitive without someone in my role.SelectCancel

My skills are relatively easy to find in the labor market.SelectCancel

I could be easily replaced internally. SelectCancel

Your role is a risk factor.


3 - Assess your job performance.

Check all of the following that seem to describe your job performance:

My most recent performance rating has been less than perfect. SelectCancel

I am occasionally late for work.SelectCancel

My work is occasionally criticized. SelectCancel

There are better-performing employees holding my same job title.SelectCancel

Some people would say I am a difficult person with whom to workSelectCancel

Your job performance is a risk factor.

How many of the three risk factors do you have?

If you have no risk factors, the likelihood that you will lose your job is probably low. Revisit this periodically to assess whether the situation has changed.

If you have 1 risk factor, there is some risk that you may lose your job. If you like your organization and your only risk factor is your role, you may want to consider whether there is a more central or core position in your organization where your skills can be applied.

The more you are in a critical role, the safer your job. Likewise, you may want to gain additional high-demand skills as the additional skills will make you more difficult to replace. The risk factor over which you have the greatest control is your job performance. If this is a concern, you may want to recommit yourself to performing reliably and with excellence in your role.

If you have 2 or 3 risk factors, you have some reason to be concerned. You may want to proactively begin to look for another job while you still have one.

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