7 ways to look indispensable — even if you’re not
February 12, 2009 by Shane BorerPosted in: "Seemed like a good idea at the time", "Would you want this person in Finance?", Special report
With more people than ever feeling like the ax is about to drop, some employees are taking drastic measures to make sure they’re not seen as expendable. Here’s how to beat them at their own game.
Ask any company about the best way to cut costs, and you’ll usually hear “think scalpel, not hatchet.” Instead of relying on quick-hit measures that’ll free up cash in the short term, most companies take a thoughtful and surgical approach to how their changes will play out.
But when all the fruit from the top of the tree is picked clean, even the best companies would have a hard time ignoring the low-hanging leftovers.
That said, many employees are scrambling to find some way to justify their positions. According to Business Finance magazine, the first key to staying off the cost-cutting radar is to look busy, but here are our favorite ways to look like the most indispensable employee ever hired:
- Always make sure there’s a mess of paperwork sprawled across your desk.
- Whenever you get the chance, have a meeting. Following it up with an e-mail that’s just a rehash of everything discussed beforehand doesn’t hurt, either.
- Whenever bosses or co-workers drop by to ask a question, tell them you’ve got to make a quick, important call but will stop by their desk in a few minutes.
- Keep as many documents as possible open on your desktop. It’ll look even more impressive if there are Excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations stacked on top of one another.
- Send e-mail messages when you’re up late at night.
- Next time you’re eating lunch with friends from another department, remember one or two things they complained about and bring it up in your own department. It’ll make you look informed.
- Use words like “leverage,” “think-tank,” “synergy” and “proactive” as often as possible.
Do you have any other secrets to always looking as busy as possible? Are some of your co-workers guilty of these busy tasks? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Tags: Cost-cutting, Drop the ax, Indispensable, Looking busy
February 13th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
This is terrible advice. How about if employees really stay busy instead of making it look like it. Prove yourself with real effort and sweat.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Well said, Cindy. The “pretenders” will be found out sooner or later – it will catch up to them.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Leave a mess of papers on your desk. This only makes you look unorganized and maybe we’d be better without you. Keep the organized and productive people.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Real effort and sweat are great, but many great workers need info like this, just to get noticed. While I disagree with the motives of this post, most managers need these types of cues to believe that an employee is valuable. I wish the world worked on effort and sweat, but the harsh reality is that it doesn’t.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I agree Cindy, that is terrible advice. If an employee is of true value to their boss, the boss already knows from past performance.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Cindy, the advice is what we call “tongue in cheek”. You know, irony, sarcasm, not to be taken seriously.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
are there other sound advices for being “REAL” indispensable (or close to it)? Not only to help yourself but also to truly help the company that you’re working for.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
You can fool some of the people some of the time, not all of the people all of the time. As stated above, pretenders will not last to the end….
February 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
While this “advice” may seem ironic, and intended for amusement, the sad fact is that many of the tactics discussed are actually used by some people. I am aware of an individual that regularly sends emails purposely at late hours to make it look like she is burning the midnight oil for the company. She frequently logs into her laptop from home, (and then proceeds to watch televison), so it appears she it working if you login and view her name on the messaging software. She talks continually about how busy she is, and will delay responses to phone and email requests, because she wants everyone to think she is working hard. Unfortunately, many people believe her.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
This was a waste of e-mail.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I would like to learn some “real” ways to be indispensable, not tongue in cheek. .
February 13th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
As a manager, there are very valuable employees that not only look busy, they are very busy. They work hard and are very important teamplayers. However, they are the ones getting overlooked by the employers. Especially when there is a great employee that NEEDS and DESERVES a raise and you can’t give it to them, but you have to watch new employees walk through the door making more, with no experience what so ever! Why punish the ones that are keeping things going smoothly? My hands are tied is just not a good enough answer to someone whos barely making it.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
In my experience, getting your job done efficiently and meeting deadlines is the best way to get noticed. Do more than is expected of you and do it cheerfully. Speak up with ideas and solutions to problems but don’t be obstructionist to other views. Be willing to compromise for the good of the company.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Sorry, you doubters, but I worked with a woman who used these tactics for 13 1/2 years before being found out. One more tactic was that she was extremely sweet to everyone, while never doing one thing for them that she was supposed to do. Nobody wanted to complain because she was “so nice”. It reminded me of women who stay with a battering husband because he is so sorry afterward. Okay, after 13 1/2 years she finally did get fired, but let’s face it, it worked. These are very good suggestions for people who do not want to work.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
What a stupid article. I am a manager and I know exactly which employees in my department are busy and which are not regardless of the “tips” given in the article. I know exactly who does what and how much time it takes them to do it.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I would send this to some of my employees to see there reaction but they waste enough time as it is everyone is replacable…
February 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Sheesh! I can’t believe some of you took this seriously!!
You want real advice to become indispensible? Never stop learning… Understand the business and what makes it tick. Become proficient in your computerized applications, particularly Excel.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I read this as tongue-in-cheek. Sadly, some folks behave exactly this way trying to look busy. A real manager can tell who is doing their work and who isn’t through delegation and deadlines. Question – Is the manager doing their work if these people are getting away with it? I think not. A manager doesn’t just assign work, but truly checks in and monitors work flow and work habits. A faker will soon be found out under these methods.
February 13th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
The problem is none of you are thinking outside the box. If you joined together in a think-tank to proactively synergize your strengths, you could leverage your potential into a better paradigm of employment fulfillment.
I would love to talk more, but I have three phone calls to make, six e-mails to compose, and a meeting in 13 minutes.
February 14th, 2009 at 6:02 am
I’m assuming that you are being totally sarcastic!
One of my co-workers has another one you can add to the list – always be using email to chat with family & friends, so that you’re always typing, even AFTER you’ve been warned about spending too much time on your cell phone when you’re supposed to be working.
Even if your job requires little or no email, be so busy with email that co-workers leave you alone & do things they’d ask/teach you to do.
February 16th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
If you’re indispensible in your position and the company can’t get along without you, then you’re not promotable. I say it’s better to be easy to promote than hard to get rid of. I’d love to write more, but I’m stepping out early for the day.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:17 am
This is exactly why I insist on reorganizing task assignments annually. Besides gaining backup experience and employee capability, the department uncovers inefficient employees. Assign at least 1 individual project annually to assess an employee’s capabilities and areas to improve. I am amazed at what I gleen from this style.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
While I realize this advice is tongue-in-cheek, I will, from now on, make sure to have some papers or a folder open on my desk. My boss’ boss remarked that I “never looked busy” the few times he visited my office. His desk is covered in several layers of paperwork, which is probably how he guages how busy he is.
Just because I’m working on reports that don’t require me to reference a paper report doesn’t mean I’m not busy…
February 24th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I thought it was funny, something to open your eyes to because people do it ALL the time. If you doubt, come see my office mate!!!