What Is Job Security? – There are a lot of ways an employee can achieve job security. Knowing how to improve job security can assist improve your work motivation, and performance, and encourage you to search for more opportunities. In this article, we explain the concept of job security and why it’s important.
What is job security?
Job security is an assurance that you will be able to maintain your current employment for the future.
It is a feeling of job stability because employees view the company as a place of value and respect to them. Moreover, it’s an important strategy to improve occupational mental health, job satisfaction, and positive work attitudes.
Job security is a high level of confidence for employees to know that they can maintain their current jobs in the nearest future. It gives a sense of protection from risks that might affect the employment status of employees. Many factors may influence the state of job security, such as the terms and conditions of the job, the job market, local labor laws, and union guidance and support.
It comes with a feeling of safety against dangers including economic downfalls, layoffs, and other factors that could influence employment.
Importance of Job Security
Some importance of job security are:
1. Makes employees feel confident about their job
When employees feel valued, they become more loyal to the company. Companies that value, respect, and support employees typically achieve high retention rates. Job security can be important in connecting employees with companies. Successful companies usually provide a sense of job security through positive financial updates with a strategic vision, good management expertise, and the provision of employee personal development plans. This initiative gives confidence and motivation to employees to contribute to the company.
2. Make employees feel valued
It shouldn’t come as no surprise that employees feel valued when they feel safe in their workplace. If employers can create a sense of security, employees will feel like people first, and then employees.
3. Encourage employees to set long-term goals for the business and personal growth
A positive work environment with long-term viability and growth prospects ensures better overall business performance for employees. Employees who are highly committed to the company tend to stay in the same job. Setting long-term goals gives employees a better chance of success.
4. Save time, money, and effort
Job security can reduce the need for hiring. Reducing recruitment costs can improve a company’s financial position. Companies can reserve financial resources for employee training, business development, or other meaningful purposes. Job security creates a win-win situation for both employers and employees.
5. Reduce employee stress and anxiety
The well-being of your employees is important. We know that employee well-being – especially stress, anxiety, and burnout – is linked to performance.
If you fear job insecurity, the well-being of your employees may suffer. Job uncertainty can have a huge impact on the mental well-being and physical health of your employees. Job uncertainty can lead to long-term anxiety, anger, and burnout. This effect can be manifested in both physical and mental health manifestations. These include sleep problems, substance abuse, weight gain, depression, and more.
6. Improves the company’s image
Reliability strengthens the company image. Both employees and customers prefer to work with ethical companies that value and respect their employees. Job stability can lead to greater employee satisfaction. Employees may be more willing to set long-term development goals in the workplace.
7. Increases employee productivity
The positive effects of workplace safety increase employee productivity. Greater employee engagement combined with an exceptional employee experience results in more productive employees.
How To Create Job Security For Employees
1. Open communication
Maintain an open door policy by encouraging employees to contact their manager to discuss problems or conflicts. Instruct managers to communicate regularly with employees to provide encouragement and constructive criticism and correct unprofessional behavior. To minimize misunderstandings, make sure all employees know the chain of command in the office so everyone can see who reports to whom.
2. Create regular opportunities for success
Unfortunately, unions often unfairly exploit these fears, as unions cannot guarantee full job security. Unionized and non-union companies go bankrupt and poor workers are laid off.
To truly ensure job security, companies must allow good employees to advance in the company. This approach to increase job security allows employees to actively participate in developing their skills and ensure their marketability by moving up the corporate ladder.
Companies should create clear career paths for employees so that employees feel they are valuable assets to the company. Companies that offer advancement opportunities can easily be distinguished from companies that care about the future of their employees, given that only one-third of executives hold career development conversations with employees.
Common promotion opportunities include tuition reimbursement, school attendance flexibility, regular opportunities for young workers to take on more meaningful roles, and a culture of promotion from within.
3. Benefits
Make employee benefits key to employee retention. Companies can show they value their employees by offering paid time off and providing essentials such as health insurance and dental plans. Pension plans, such as employer-contributed 401s, show that the company is concerned not only with the current needs of employees but also with providing a secure retirement.
4. Recreation
Provide opportunities for employees to relax and bond with colleagues outside of the office setting, such as holiday parties and company picnics throughout the year. Encourage employees to bring their spouses and children to meetings as a sign that the company values family relationships with its employees.
5. Increase Training Opportunities
Training opportunities allow relevant employees to increase their job security through skill development. “Highway” employers increase productivity by providing more training opportunities and encouraging skills development. This significantly reduces employee turnover, which increases the perceived safety of the entire workforce.
6. Recognition
Host employee recognition events such as employee of the month awards or grand annual awards ceremonies to recognize employees who excel and go beyond in their daily work. When managers recognize and celebrate personal achievement, an employee is more likely to take pride in their work and feel valued by the company.
7. Have Policies to Protect Workers
Provide a plan to accommodate and protect employees with short-term or long-term disabilities, even if not required by law. Accommodating a disabled employee is often cheaper than paying disability benefits.
It’s also a valuable way for companies to care about their employees. Companies should encourage disclosure and have a visible HR policy that addresses disability.
8. Advancement Opportunities
Promote internally whenever possible to encourage employee hard work and company loyalty. An employee is more likely to give his best when there are opportunities for advancement and he sees a bright future in the company, rather than working every day in a situation that offers no opportunity for excellence or advancement.
Empower employees to expand their knowledge and keep up with emerging technologies by paying for seminars and training sessions and providing up-to-date training guides.
9. Facilitate communication between employees and management
A company’s financial stability is an important factor in hiring and retaining employees. Companies cannot offer lifetime employment contracts, but management must be transparent about company goals, strategy, and vision.
While quarterly earnings and long-term prospects do not guarantee future job security, companies that transmit these financial security signals help improve job security among employees.
10. Professional Workplace
Maintain a clean and professional work environment for employees for day-to-day business operations. Contract housekeeping to maintain the entire office building and instruct employees to maintain their workspaces.
Employees are likely to be more productive in an organized environment than in an unorganized and disorganized environment. Provide adequate, well-lit parking areas and break rooms for employees, and outdoor smoking areas if necessary.
Conclusion
These are the ways you can bring job security to protect your workers. Practice it and see how they will carry out their tasks excellently.
Frequently Asked Question(s)
The top three jobs with the best job security are criminal investigator, registered nurse, and accountant. The top three jobs without job security are cashier, photographer, and actor. Job security refers to the solidity of a role, regardless of external factors that limit less stable positions.
Employees who know their job is secure will likely feel better and have a more positive attitude about the company and work in general. That can help create a more positive work environment. It can also create a more relaxed atmosphere where coworkers get along better.
The elements of job security include a good relationship with your manager, a job that’s hard to outsource, and a company doing well. Support and appreciation from your employer are important job aspects too.
Factors like company mergers and acquisitions, the growing popularity of the gig economy, downsizing, and a dependence on social safety nets like healthcare also contribute to the feeling.
Job insecurity, and the perception of job insecurity, also drag down individual performance at work, as well as team morale and productivity. The damaging impact on mental well-being, and the resulting toll on physical health and social status, points to a need for change.
Reference(s)
- betterup.com – The Benefits of Job Security & Stability for Employers and Employees
- indeed.com – What Is Job Security? (Definition and How to Improve It)
- projectionsinc.com – UNION-FREE JOB SECURITY: 5 WAYS TO SHOW EMPLOYEES IT EXISTS
- smallbusiness.chron.com – How to Make an Employee Confident With Job Security
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