Being Creative Can Help You Keep Your Job
The current economic situation has many people worrying about the security of their jobs. Some wonder if there’s anything they can do to make sure they stay employed. The honest answer is, no. There are too many variables that are out of their control. Still, there are some steps employees can take to minimize their risk of ending up on the proverbial chopping block.
Employees who are “creators” are truly indispensable, says Jonathan Fields in his article, How to Be Indispensable, because “for every creator, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of operators,” he says. Operators are “worker bees,” people who follow instructions, work hard, and keep the company engine running smoothly. But worker-bee employees are expendable because they’re interchangeable with one another. That’s why it’s so important to learn – and it can be learned – how to be a creator because, according to Fields, it’s a surefire way for any employee to increase his value to his employer.
Managers have a lot on their minds, so they desire employees with creative problem-solving skills to oversee and manage smaller projects, allowing them more time to focus on larger ones.
The only kind of employee who’s more valuable than a creator, says Fields, is a “creator-operator.” A creator-operator gives his boss the best of both worlds “because creation and implementation are very different processes. Most peoples’ minds just don’t function well on both levels, which is why those folks tend to rise quickly up the ranks and often become entrepreneurs,” Fields concluded.
While there’s truly no way for anyone to guarantee that he won’t lose his job, it is possible for him to decrease the likelihood of his being chosen, should layoffs be necessary, by being a creative problem solver. According to Jonathan Fields, these employees are at the top of employers’ lists of “most value players.”
