Surviving Recession: Navigating Job Insecurity in Uncertain Times

The whole of humanity has been living through one historic event after another for a couple of years now. First, there was a worldwide pandemic that radically impacted our daily lives (and dramatically changed the ways that we work). As the economy shifted out of quarantine mode, many people were stepping away from jobs that didn’t align with their values or life goals as part of the Great Resignation. Then war broke out in Europe, disrupting global food supplies and impacting energy prices. And now we are collectively heading into what many experts are predicting will be a global recession.

Around the world, the post-pandemic economy is struggling to find its balance. At this point, it’s just a bad cliché to state that we live in uncertain times, but…well, we do. And they seem to just keep getting more unpredictable.

It’s almost as if every time you blink, prices inch higher. It’s impossible to ignore the headlines announcing hiring freezes and impending layoffs. All of this uncertainty lends itself to a sense of looming job insecurity.

This feeling of standing on shaky ground may leave people with certain personality types lying awake at night fretting about how everything seems to be falling apart. Others might be more optimistic than ever about the opportunities that they see in front of them.

Considering all the uncertainty that exists around the labor market, now feels like the perfect time to explore how our personalities influence the ways that we respond to job insecurity.

What about you?

Free

Only 10 minutes to get a “freakishly accurate” description of who you are and why you do things the way you do.

Take the Test

Personalities, Strategies, and Job Insecurity

Our personalities have an outsize impact on the way that we react when we feel like our jobs or professional dreams are on the line. How we interpret and respond to what’s going on around us can often be linked back to two specific aspects of our personality type: Introversion/Extraversion and our Identity (Assertive/Turbulent) trait.

The way that these traits come together and interact is so influential, in fact, that here at 16Personalities, we use them as a framework to group together personality types. We call these four groupings Strategies, and each one describes tendencies that are common to personalities who share the same combination of traits.

Constant Improvers, who share both the Introverted and Turbulent traits, have a tendency to expect the worst when facing job insecurity. One example of this is how they’re likely to expect bad news if called into a private meeting with their boss, even if they know they are excellent at what they do. Becoming aware of these patterns will allow them to begin purposefully working toward shifting their mindset.

Social Engagers, who share the Extraverted and Turbulent traits, are likely to believe that their job stability boils down to luck or, perhaps more often, knowing the right people. They may benefit from recognizing that their decisions and actions play just as important a role in their career as chance does.

On the other hand, Confident Individualists, who are both Introverted and Assertive, probably think that stability in their jobs is a direct result of how hard they work. They might need to regularly remind themselves that professional setbacks are not necessarily a reflection of a lack of effort on their part.

Finally, People Masters, with the Extraverted and Assertive traits, are generally the personality types who are most confident in their careers. They might benefit from recognizing that they still have plenty of room to improve professionally – and should maybe stop taking their job security for granted.

Learning about your personality Strategy is useful for developing an objective perspective on both your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to how you deal with employment instability and challenging times in general.

But here’s the deal: you get to decide how to handle uncertainty. Just because your response to insecurity tends to be habitual does not mean that it is written in stone. It’s up to you to decide which tactics help you meet your goals and to recognize the ones that interfere with what you hope to achieve professionally.

Dive deeper into what you believe influences the outcomes in your life the most with our premium Locus of Control Test.

Practical Tips for Dealing with Job Insecurity

Before jumping into the practical tips for bolstering your job security, it’s worth noting that not all of these are going to work for every personality type or job situation out there. These are helpful, though somewhat generalized, suggestions. Some of them might not feel like an ideal fit, but try to approach them with an open mind.

Remember, being willing and able to consider new ideas may be a prerequisite before the tips discussed in this section can be useful.

1. Make Yourself Irreplaceable

This is a no-brainer. But, seriously, take a minute to rethink just how indispensable you are in your workplace. If you could easily be replaced, it’s time to do some brainstorming.

Depending on your personality, making yourself irreplaceable might mean becoming the go-to expert on something very specific or becoming a jack-of-all-trades who people turn to for problem-solving. It might also mean striving to be more efficient or being willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. Only you know how to become irreplaceable in your workplace.

This does not mean sucking up to the boss or forgetting to be a team player. If anything, it’s about finding a way to be the person who helps keep everything flowing smoothly.

This advice comes with one (very important) caveat. It’s important to be just as self-aware of your limitations as you are of your unique strengths. “Making yourself irreplaceable” can easily lead to burnout for certain personality types. The key is to use your strengths in a way that benefits as many people as possible – without forgetting to take care of yourself in the process.

2. Stay Up-to-Date in Your Field

No matter what you do, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations in your field will help you become a thought leader in your workplace. You will have fresh ideas for improving efficiency, can help your company keep its edge, and will ultimately end up doing higher quality work. As an employee, you will provide more value to your employer by staying current with the latest developments.

Think of it like this: you want to be the one suggesting (or designing) new trainings and protocols, not the one participating in them.

3. Network (Both Online and Off, In-House and Out)

We often think of networking as something that is done outside of work as a way to build professional connections that could potentially lead to new job opportunities. While this is certainly true, networking can also be done within your workplace as a strategy for combating job insecurity.

Get to know coworkers in other departments beyond the ones that you immediately interact with. You never know when that contact of yours could be the key to solving some problem that’s been bothering your team for months.

You’ll also strengthen your connections and relationships within the workplace, solidify your understanding of the ins and outs of how your company works, and possibly pick up new ideas that help you do your job better. And who knows, you might even get access to potential in-house job opportunities.

When it comes to online (and off-site) networking, all of these same advantages apply. There is a whole world of professional organizations, online platforms, and networking events that you would do well to start exploring.

4. Learn to Market Yourself and Your Skills

An important aspect of networking is talking about yourself and what you do. For notoriously humble personality types like Defenders (ISFJs) or Mediators (INFPs), this can be truly daunting.

But it’s necessary.

Start by marketing your skills at your current job. Do you know how to do something that’s not exactly in your job description? Talk to your supervisor or teammates and see how your talents can be put to use (see tip #1). Use your online networking profiles to show examples of your work and to celebrate your professional accomplishments.

If you are only worried about maintaining your current job and this strikes you as unnecessary, it’s helpful to remember two things. First, you never know who will hear about your skills and accomplishments. Maybe your boss or another higher-up will see your potential and realize that you are too good to lose. Second, unexpected opportunities may come your way. You may be caught off guard by a surprise promotion or an offer for a lateral move that allows you to contribute to your workplace in a way that is more aligned with your skills.

Which leads right into this last point…

5. Actively Seek Out New Opportunities

Proactively looking for new job opportunities is something that you should do for your own peace of mind and professional development. When we asked our readers whether they’d want to change their career if given the right opportunity, nearly half of all respondents (across all personality types) admitted to desiring a change. If you find yourself in this group, seek out that opportunity by applying to and interviewing for other jobs! If you stay in the same position for long enough, it’s easy to stagnate professionally. Seeking out a new position allows you to challenge yourself and continue to expand your experience even in a difficult job market. It can also allow you to move into work that more closely aligns with what you really want to do.

But what if you’re perfectly happy with your career and don’t exactly want to leave your job? Having a job offer in your back pocket allows you to verify your worth through an outside source. If you know, for example, that someone is willing to pay you $5 to $10 an hour more than what you are currently making for similar work, you can use that knowledge to try to renegotiate your salary without revealing that you have other options available. Applying for other jobs can be considered market research, and besides, it’s never a bad idea to keep your interview skills sharp and your résumé up-to-date.

A Final Word

In this constantly changing economy, it can be unnerving to see certain sectors slow down on hiring and contemplate layoffs, while others desperately try to fill vacant positions. Some people might argue that there is no reason to fret if your job is cut because there are so many jobs available that finding another one will be a breeze.

That’s little consolation to someone in a specialized field who might lose a lifetime of career gains in a layoff. Or for the person who loses their long-term restaurant job because rising prices cause the business to go under.

Part of what makes this potential recession and the current atmosphere of job instability so unsettling is the unpredictability and uncertainty of the times we live in. And this uncertainty can cause a lot of anxiety, regardless of your personality type or Strategy. (We see you, Constant Improvers. The struggle is real.)

One way to combat this anxiety is to seek out tools that can help you find a sense of control over your situation. We hope that this article and the tips that we’ve provided here have done just that.