Your services are no longer required...

I heard this today. It's always a bit of a jarring experience, but being a contract programmer, you learn to live with the idea that you can lose your job on any given day for any given reason.

It is amazing how my attitude has changed over work. When I was younger, I was very emotionally attached to my job. I gave up everything that was really important for work. My attitude toward work was probably instilled in me from seeing my dad. My parents sent me to a private school because the schools in my neighborhood were bad. Being a fireman, he had to work side jobs when he was off to keep the bills paid. It really wasn't until I was working to send my kids to private school that I really realized and appreciated what he had done for me.

Thankfully, I have a lot of contacts here in Nashville and some other cities so I already have things in the works...however, it seems to be a good opportunity to let you know my thoughts about jobs work and whatever else I can think of....

1. Do everything that you can to get along with the people that you work with and your employer in general. I can't stress how important this is. I've been out of college and working for 22 years now. When I decided to leave my first post-college job, I responded to an ad in the newspaper. As far as I can remember, that is the only time I've ever done that. Every other job or contract that I've had has been the result of knowing someone.

2. You are not your job. At one time, I allowed my job define who I was. If you are in that state, and you lose a job, you lose your whole sense of who you are. Satan likes to do that, he wants you to define yourself based on what you have or what you look like or what you do. Then he takes that away from you.

3. Don't get emotionally attached to a job. There was a day, when the employer/employee relationship was a commitment almost like marriage. Employers would offer pension programs such that if you give us some number of years, we will take care of you for the rest of your life. Those days are gone. If times get tough, employers will drop you if they need to. In my opinion, employees should have the same attitude.

4. Keep the relationship clear. My first job was at a grocery store. I can remember that was where I became aware of what a salary was. I thought, wouldn't it be great to be paid a salary. That way you get paid the same whether you work or not. After I got my first salary job, I realized that the salary was not for the employee's benefit, it is for the employer. Right now, I work on a contract basis and get paid by the hour (though the hourly rate is a touch higher than it was at the grocery store). Work an hour...get paid an hour....the relationship is clear, my employer's goals and my goals are the same. There is no concept of 'hang around we might need you'.

5. Your security does not come from an employer. I've talked to many people since I became self-employed who say "I'd love to do what you do, but I need more security than that". My response is this, if you feel that your security comes from an employer, you have a false sense of security. Jesus makes it clear, God feeds the birds, how much more valuable are you than they? (Matthew 6 25-34)

If you are going through work related changes (surely I'm not alone), read the book Who Moved My Cheese?.

By the way, you can call me Scurry...