You Are Replaceable At Work, So Work On Yourself Instead

“Own the amount of time you spend at work as a choice, not a consequence. Don’t play the victim of your job. Hard work is a high (addiction). It is. Don’t forget what you’re reaching for while getting high on work.”
― Richie Norton

A mindset to get you grounded and remain humble yet hopeful – for workaholics. People sometimes get so involved in a job (for some boss) that they forget who they are or their families.

            Let us first agree on one thing, YOU matter as a person no matter what. And you should give your best wherever you are. But, when it comes to being part of something bigger, however good or excellent you are in your job when you are absent or no longer there, that organisation has to find another person who can do what you do – its evolutionary necessity.

When you work in an organization or company, your role is defined and specific. If you could not turn up for work for any reason, your role will be assigned to another person sooner or later. That depends on the importance or urgency of the task at hand. This is because the task or the mission is of greater importance than any single individual. Big organizations have proper systems and processes in place to make the engine of the organization run effectively and uninterrupted.

This is especially true in the military, where, every mission has to be accomplished. The mission itself is greater than any single person involved. So, the bigger the mission, the less significant your role will be, especially in the lower ranks. For an established community or organization, you are remembered and revered for only as long as you are useful. Sometimes the memory of you lasts only for hours. Sometimes, the legacy remains for decades and even centuries. Every human aspires to be remembered for good. As those who have made significant contributions. To be remembered as the one with innovative ideas or provided a lasting solution to crucial problems. This is the most ideal human need, to leave a legacy and valid throughout the world.

Imagine you are boarding a train along with other passengers and the train has to depart within 5 minutes. Before departure, it is announced that the train won’t depart, because the engine driver has fallen sick. You may feel sorry for the man. But how many of you would deboard the train and not go to your destination because of the health of the engine driver? You would not take time to apply logic and wonder why can’t they find another driver? Right?

Individuals in big firms and organisations are like spokes on a wheel. Even when one of the many spokes gets broken, for revolution and evolution’s sake, the wheel has to keep spinning. The vehicle has to keep moving, so another spoke will have to take its place.

If you were the only passenger on the train, you getting off the train would make sense. But with the train full… the mission becomes too big for the railway authority. The driver has to be replaced for the greater good of all passengers. The same goes for organizations. Any employee, regardless of the position, if the administration or managing committee feels that an employee (it might be the president himself) is a threat to the existence or growth of the organization, it will remove the particular employee.

One historical example might be the sacking of the late Steve Jobs from Apple inc., the company that he himself had founded. He was Vice President and General Manager of the Macintosh department. It did not make ethical or moral sense, but it made economic and business sense at the time. It was a different story that later he came back to the company and quickly became Apple CEO again till his demise. The point is, because the situation demands, he was replaced. That is how everyone is replaceable. The removal of Steve Jobs from his own company was a life lesson for many of us as much as it was a business lesson.

I used to be a classic workaholic, and after seeing how little work and career really mean when you reach the end of your life, I put a new emphasis on things I believe count more. These things include: family, friends, being part of a community, and appreciating the little joys of the average day.
― Mitch Albom

This post is not to discourage anyone from being dedicated or working for anyone, because we are all doing something for ourselves or others. My point is, our time on this planet is limited, so we should strive to do our best and work on our individual selves. Make your presence felt by making optimum use of your talents and gifts so that when you are no longer there, the memory of you remains.

Make your replacement a tough task. Be so good they can’t ignore you when you are there and they can’t forget you when you are gone. That way, you will also easily find opportunity elsewhere, your skill and confidence will shoot up. They might not even remember you, but after you have given your best, you will be satisfied with the knowledge that you played your role well.

It’s not what you achieve in life, but who you become as a person due to those achievements
― Curtis Martin

“Whatever you are, wherever you are, you can always be replaced, keep learning, keep exploring yourself. Make your replacement a tough task and new opportunity an easy task.”
― Da Sachin Sharma