When I am King: All Fired Up

When I am King...

All jobs will last only for one year, after which the employee in that job will be fired.

This may seem, at a very superficial level, rather harsh and demeaning. However, I think you will see that this system of temporary employment is actually great for the employees.

Job Security

Job security is normally thought of in terms of how long your job will last. So the idea of getting axed after such a short period seems at odds with job security. However, the reality in today's employment market is that no job is secure.

Either the company will go south, or your department will tank, or your product will fail, or there will be some reorg, or your boss will find that morally suspicious stuff you've been posting on the internet in the company's name, or one of a host of other Bad Things will occur that put your job at risk. Every single day.

We all constantly wonder: “Will I still be employed next year? Next month? Next week? After lunch?”

What kind of job security is that?

Wouldn't it be more secure to know, for certain, that you will be fired on a specific date? At least then you could depend upon something. How much security can there be with some many constant nagging questions? Give me the sure thing of knowing that I'm gone, and then at least I know what I can count on. Or, rather, not.

Of course, the nature of people's jobs will necessarily change and involve much more ramp-up time learning whatever the job entails, since everyone will switch jobs so much more frequently. But more importantly, people will need to spend a major portion of their year-long tenure at any job looking for the next job.

This is not a new concept, however. Politicians have perfected the art of spending their entire term in office seeking re-election for the following term. This is the only thing that keeps our government working. Can you imagine the gridlock that would result if politicians actually paid attention in their jobs and tried to do something useful?

There is more to say in favor of mandatory firings, but in the interests of informing a society with a short attention span, I'll continue the discussion in another posting, leaving a cliff-hanger of an ending here. Can't you feel the suspense building?