Job Security

All of this rancor about the economy and how horrible the last few months have been got me thinking about jobs in general, and my own job in particular.

I know I'm a hard worker and I'm doing what I can to bring glory to my department and my company, etc. However we all know that when it comes to layoffs, you never know what might happen.

So, I've decided I'd approach this concern in the following way: if you're a hard worker, just keep working hard. Don't work harder or less hard than you would if you weren't worried about the whole economic situation. If you do good work, then either a) you'll be fine because you're ahead of the curve anyway or b) you'll get canned for whatever inexplicable reason, and you'll move on to another job because, since you're a hard worker, you'll find a job pretty quickly anyway.

If you're not a hard worker, you can either a) work as hard as you _believe_ someone in your position should because you want to do at least enough to keep your job (whatever that means), or b) keep up the status quo because you're better off spending the time between now and when you get laid off without the stress of worrying about whether or not your job is safe.

Hmm, not very optimistic, I guess ... but unfortunately optimism is over-rated.