Tuesday, June 29, 2010

6 Signs Your Job May Be in Jeopardy


Maybe you've kept your nose the grindstone for the last year, and now you feel some of the pressure start to let up. So you don't give as much attention to that report, letting the deadline slip. Or, you ignore a co-worker's plea to help cover for her while she's on vacation.

Before you know it, you've slipped into some very bad habits. And guess who has noticed? The boss.

Want to know if you're in serious trouble? Look for some of these signs that you may be joining those -- very long -- unemployment lines:

1. The boss says you need a coach to help you better deal with some issues. What it may really mean if that she's covering her bases, and you're going to be fired anyway.
2. You're given unrealistic goals -- perhaps an effort to show you can't achieve desired results and it's time for you to go.
3. You are taken away from the "money-making" side of the business, perhaps switched from sales to operations. Oh, my -- was that you veering off the fast track?
4. You receive a resounding "no" to most of your ideas. The boss looks like he's going to laugh out loud whenever you request funds for a project. You're losing power faster than Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
5. You're often the last to know of what's going on in your own office. Decisions are made regarding your job and you're clueless until the last minute. Not being in the information loop is a dangerous place to be.
6. Invitations from colleagues for lunch or coffee dry up. Co-workers may have caught clues that you're in trouble with the boss, and they don't want to be tainted by your bad mojo.

What are some other warning signs that your job might be in jeopardy?

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4 comments:

Scot Herrick said...

The social piece is especially telling. We are social creatures and when we see bad things happening, we don't want to get caught in the middle of it.

The social stuff, though, is the hardest to see. You just no longer get invites, but they taper off and everyone is just "too busy."

Alarms should go off then...

A good, if discouraging, list, Anita.

Anita said...

Thanks, Scot. And even more thanks for expanding on this in your blog...http://cuberules.com/2010/06/30/how-recover-when-coworkers-avoid-your-bad-mojo/

Anonymous said...

These signs are also the normal way they treat the Administrative Staff. So if you are in Administration your job probably isn't in jeopardy.

I know because I was an Office Manager and Receptionist for over 20 years and the signs remind me of my everyday life at the company.

Anita said...

Dear anonymous,
If you were with one company for 20 years, we can only hope you worked for people who just didn't know how key administrative staff are to making a place function.