I'm torn - can't decide where job security leaves off and mediocrity sets in. Or does it?
If an individual knows job security is a given, does that nudge that person towards mediocrity or can excellence still be achieved, and, more importantly, maintained?
What drives an individual toward excellence? Is excellence a bi-product of having the stress removed that is connected to the question of keeping one's job? Or, does the presence of knowledge that 'I will always have a job, unless I become a convicted felon or commit some egregious act' allow a person to slide toward indifference and mediocre job performance?
Curious questions with even more curious answers, I suspect. This dilemma has been around for decades, and maybe even a century or two. And, I'm confident that the questions will continue to pervade the work place for many years to come. What is important is that quality workers, in any job category, continue to be rewarded and encouraged and that mediocre/sub-par workers be pushed and prodded to move towards excellence or suffer the consequences. Excellence and mediocrity should not be monetarily rewarded similarly, as our society is currently doing in many professions.
With our withering economics, the survival of the fittest companies and individuals must be encouraged and the CEO's compensated within financially responsible limits. This fiscal responsibility should translate into the world of sports and celebrities, as well as the world of the union workers.
I am tired of seeing excellence blurred into the lines of poor performance and mediocrity. Poor performers have too long rested on the laurels of being rewarded the same as every one else.
My soap box is dissipating.
Ancora imparo
