Give No More than 100% at Work

(Image created by A.I. DALL-E/Bing)

In my 16 years career, I was layoff 3 times. The first time was due to a project ending and not having any other projects I could work on for the company. I had done a good enough job, however, that the CEO got in contact with another local company to give me a reference. Ultimately, I ended up getting my second job of my career that way. I stayed with this new company until it eventually closed 2 years later. Then I join a consulting company, that I still work for, but was also let go sometime in 2015 due to a slow couple of months and was brought back within a month.

What I’ve learned through these ordeals is simply this:

• Have some savings as you never know what could happen.
• Whether or not you give more than your 100% doesn’t really increases your chances of staying with a company that much.

What does giving your 100% even means?

It means to work when you’re supposed to work and not work when you’re not supposed to work. Staying up late every night will usually reward you with more work and doesn’t necessarily guarantee you won’t be let go if the business is in a tough financial situation. If you show more value than your peers, then you may have a better chance of not being let go but then the question becomes how much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to remain at this company? If there’s a constant demand on you to work additional hours, just to keep on working there, then how long can you do this without having a negative impact on your personal life?

The work/life balance is something for each one of us to define. There’s nothing wrong with doing more than 100% just as much as there’s nothing wrong with NOT doing more than you’ve been asked to do. The most important thing is to work when you’re supposed to be working and add as much value as you can during that time.