Becoming irreplaceable at your job is a great way to secure your job, right? On the surface it seems perfectly logical that if you are the only one who can do a job, then your company HAS to keep you for that job.
While there certainly are positives to being indispensable, there are some very real pitfalls as well. For those of you who buy into the irreplaceable=security formula, here are 5 ways to become indispensable. Use them at your own risk!
1 Don't share your knowledge and skills with ANYONE.
If you share what you know, then someone else may be able to do your job and you could become obsolete. On the other hand, you aren't exactly promotable are you?
2 Don't mentor other employees in company culture.
If you make everyone else look good then you may not look so good yourself! If word gets out that you're some kind of mentor that makes other employees better, you run the risk of someone noticing and trying to get you to take on more responsibility. And pay you more money. Don't fall into this trap!
3 Don't promote a team atmosphere.
The more you are seen as a “team” member, the less you are seen as a unique entity. This could weaken the illusion that you are irreplaceable...don't do it. Not to mention the very real risk of again being promotable because of your team-building skills.
4 Don't learn new skills or think about better ways to do your job.
Again, this could weaken the commonly held belief that you are the “one”. Adding new skills makes the original skills not so unique after all. Start talking about new and better ways to perform your job and suddenly you are in danger AGAIN of being promoted. Unless you already practice tip #1. Then you're ok.
5 Don't ask for a raise...ever.
Nothing says indispensable like cheap labor. If I can get a “B” player for “C” pay, then I'm all in. If you ask for a raise, you could be seen as a dissatisfied employee that only cares about themselves. Or you could finally start getting paid what you really deserve. Oh, and employees that stand up for themselves run the risk of getting noticed. Be careful.