Work like you could get fired.

The economic storm that we're all experiencing plays out in thousands of business in thousands of cities across the globe daily. Employees feeling vulnerable are vying for the attention of their bosses, hoping that a brilliant thought or idea on cost saving or sales driving will draw positive affirmation and underline their own job security. People are working later, starting earlier, showing up to optional events and all around pluggin in more to the pulse of their businesses and trying to add value. A colleague of mine uses the metaphor of a prenuptial agreement to describe the employment contract. The prenup never matters until you're getting a divorce. Then suddenly you really care what you signed on for. It's no secret that people are losing their jobs right now. Tens of thousands everyday south of the border and numbers reflective of that reality here in Canada. There are probably lots of employees who have gone to that bankers box where they keep their paystubs and contract to review what was agreed to in the category of termination of employment. This symmetry has been further underlined for me recently in the actions of one of the dozens of recruiters who invade my inbox during my 9-5 time. Because I work in Human Resources, I hear from "placement services" a lot. So given that the economy is tanking and so too is the job market, the headhunters are struggling for business. So today, I received what I thought was a decent approach to the unique problem of declining client business and less recruiting contracts. One of my favourite recruiters sent me a listing of all of the great candidates they have on their roster. The first one happened to be a better sounding version of me. They were skill for skill a match for what I do except they held the elusive professional designation that I have been too distracted by keeping me and my family alive to complete and they were fluently bilingual. This got me thinking. What if dating websites sent out updates on the recently divorced, broken up and separated who were joining the ranks of the single? Would we do as I did today? Would we scan the addressees to make sure that it hadn't been sent to anyone in my company more higher ranking than me who might want to know if this bilingual,CHRP toting, HR Director has great legs, less kids, is a workaholic, has round firm double D's and can walk on water? Or would we click on the profile and fantasize about how much more brilliant our lives would be if we were married to this new bachelor with the fantastic cottage in Muskoka and a full head of hair? All I'm saying is that I worked harder this afternoon after having seen the profile of a suitable successor and I came home promising myself I would be the best cheerleader my relationship has. I just re-read the pre-nup and it turns out I'm totally replaceable.