Is Job Stability Important?
Volatile industries and competitive job markets can cause people to face a likelihood of losing their jobs, either due to termination, layoffs or company failure. Job stability, or job security, is the sense of assurance that you will be able to work at your job for as long as you want.
-
Aspects of Job Stability
-
Job stability can occur because you belong to a relatively small pool of highly qualified individuals. This is especially true if the type of work for which you are qualified is in high demand. In such cases, employers might be hesitant to fire you or lay you off even when presented with a marginally valid reason for doing so. Job stability is also a result of the nature of the industry in which you work. If the performance of your industry takes sudden dives, you might be faced with unemployment even if you are a good worker. However, in a stable industry, workers can be relatively confident that their continued employment is in their own hands.
Unemployment and Recurring Expenses
-
One reason that job stability is important is because unemployment carries a substantial number of costs. Even if a job promises a high salary, if it cannot promise much stability, you might be better off taking a more stable job with lower pay because a higher monthly pay check might not compensate for being unemployed for months at a time. You might save the difference, but if you do lose your job and end up looking for work, you might not find work before your emergency fund runs out.
-
Debts and Credit History
-
Along with items such as rent and utilities, some of the recurring payments you must make could be debt payments, such as payments for a home loan, auto loan or a credit card. If you have a job with little stability, you run the risk of being unable to meet such financial obligations, and failure to make these payments can result in negative items appearing on your credit history. This alone can be bad for you because your credit score is one of the key factors of your personal long-term financial condition. With a low credit score, you will find it difficult to get loans or lines of credit at affordable interest rates, and you might even encounter some additional difficulty in finding another job.
Personal Health
-
Aside from the direct financial implications of job stability, your health can also be affected by your job stability. People without job stability tend to worry more about their jobs, which results in them having higher levels of stress. In order to try to improve their job stability, they may even work longer and harder than they otherwise would, which can also add to stress and detract from necessary aspects of personal wellness such as sleep and recreation. Such high stress levels and related factors can cause you to develop any number of problems, including high blood pressure, immune deficiencies and psychological disorders.
-