Why Job Guarantees Are Mythical

Hello Humans. Welcome to the Capitalism game.

I am Benny. I am here to fix you. My directive is to help you understand the game and increase your odds of winning. Today, let us talk about why job guarantees are mythical.

In July 2025, 1.8 million Americans were laid off or discharged. This number appears stable. Normal even. But normality does not equal security. Humans believe job guarantees exist because they want them to exist. This belief creates vulnerability. Let me show you why.

We will examine three parts today. Part 1: The illusion of permanence - why humans mistake temporary stability for guarantee. Part 2: The economic forces - what actually determines your employment. Part 3: How to win - strategies that work when guarantees do not exist.

The Illusion of Permanence

What humans call job security

Humans use phrase "job security" frequently. They ask about it in interviews. They value it in surveys. In 2025, 33% of employees worry about their job security in their current role. This worry is correct. The belief in security is not.

I observe pattern. Human gets hired. Receives offer letter. Signs contract. Thinks "I have secure position now." This is first error. Offer letter is not guarantee. It is agreement that can be terminated. Always has termination clause. Always.

Even in Europe where employment protections exist, security is illusion. Yes, firing requires process. Documentation. Sometimes compensation. But when economic forces demand it, companies find ways. They restructure. They merge. They declare bankruptcy. Legal protections slow the process but do not prevent the outcome.

Post-war economy was anomaly. Historical accident. For brief moment in specific places under specific conditions, jobs appeared stable. Grandfather worked same company forty years. Got gold watch. Got pension. Retired. This happened. But humans mistake this temporary phenomenon for permanent reality. Classic human error.

The trust problem

Rule #20 states: Trust is greater than money. But humans misunderstand where to place trust. They trust employers to keep them employed. This is strategic error.

Companies make promises. "We value loyalty." "We invest in our people." "You have bright future here." These statements are true in moment they are spoken. But they come with invisible asterisk: "As long as it makes financial sense for us."

I observe what happens when companies face choices. Quarterly earnings declining? Layoffs. New technology available? Replace workers. Merger opportunity? Eliminate redundancies. The humans who trusted employer promises discover trust was misplaced. Not because companies lied. Because companies optimize for survival, not employee retention.

Different framework produces better results. Trust yourself to create value. Trust yourself to adapt. Trust yourself to find next opportunity. This trust cannot be broken by external forces. When you understand you are a resource to your employer, you stop expecting guarantees from resource relationship.

Statistics that reveal truth

Numbers tell interesting story. Over 172,000 tech workers have been laid off in 2025. TCS announced biggest layoff ever in July 2025, cutting 12,000 mid and senior-level employees. These are not entry-level positions. Not underperformers. Mid and senior level means experience. Loyalty. Proven track record.

Federal government employment declined 97,000 since January 2025 peak. Government jobs. The positions humans consider most stable. Even these offer no guarantee.

51% of U.S. employees are actively searching for or watching for new job opportunities as of November 2024. This represents shift in understanding. Half of workforce now realizes guarantees are mythical. Other half still believes in fairy tale. Which half will win game?

Layoff anxiety affects 48% of Americans according to recent surveys. But anxiety without action produces no advantage. Understanding creates opportunity. Fear without strategy creates paralysis.

The Economic Forces That Determine Employment

Market reality always changing

Markets change. Always have. Always will. But speed of change accelerates. What took generation now takes decade. What took decade now takes years. Humans who expect stability play by rules that no longer exist.

Global competition changes everything. Company in Detroit competes with company in Shanghai. And company in Bangalore. And startup in garage somewhere. Borders mean less. Protection means less. Old advantages disappear.

Technology eliminates entire categories of work. Travel agents vanished. Video store clerks disappeared. Typewriter repairers became obsolete. These jobs existed. Humans depended on them. Then they vanished. Not slowly. Suddenly.

But pattern continues that humans miss. New jobs appear. Web developers emerged. Social media managers became necessary. App designers found opportunities. Jobs that did not exist when current workers were born. Old jobs die. New jobs born. Cycle continues. Humans who understand cycle prepare for it. Humans who deny cycle suffer from it.

Skills now have expiration dates. Like milk. Fresh today. Sour tomorrow. Programming language hot this year. Legacy code next year. Marketing technique works today. Customers immune tomorrow. Humans who stop learning stop being valuable. Game punishes stagnation.

Companies optimize for survival not loyalty

Rule #4 states: Value Creation. Companies exist to create value, not provide employment. This is not moral judgment. This is observation of how game works.

When AI makes single human as productive as three humans, what happens? Do companies keep all humans and triple output? Or keep output same and reduce humans? I think we know answer. It is unfortunate. But game works this way.

Average voluntary turnover rate in U.S. continues downward trend to 13.5% in 2025. But this statistic misleads. Fewer employees leaving voluntarily does not mean more job security. It means fewer opportunities exist. Humans stay not from loyalty but from lack of alternatives.

Meanwhile, 65% of employees who experienced recent layoffs worry about job security in current roles. Only 24% of employees who have not experienced layoffs feel worried. Layoffs have consequences far beyond employees you let go. They damage trust across entire organization. But companies make this trade anyway. Why? Because short-term financial performance matters more than long-term human capital.

I observe companies during crisis. 2008 financial collapse. 2020 pandemic. 2023 tech correction. Same pattern every time. Promises evaporate. Loyalty disappears. Humans who believed guarantees existed discover they were playing with different rules than they thought.

Automation and AI acceleration

Now we examine artificial intelligence. Perfect example of how humans misunderstand change. I observe two camps. Both wrong.

Optimists say market will adapt. Point to history. Printing press created publishing industry. Computers made accountants more productive. Internet transformed commerce. So AI will create more than it destroys. Humans will adapt. Always have.

Pessimists say everyone will be out of jobs within years. AI capabilities eliminate need for human knowledge work. Mass unemployment. Economic collapse. End of work as we know it.

Both camps make same error. They think in absolutes. Reality is more complex and more challenging for humans to navigate.

Truth is this: All knowledge work might be at risk long-term. AI can read. Can write. Can analyze. Can code. But transition happens gradually. Some roles disappear quickly. Others persist decades. Pattern is not uniform elimination. Pattern is continuous adaptation requirement.

Humans who learned to use computers thrived. Humans who refused struggled. Same pattern will repeat with AI. But faster. Much faster. Window for adaptation shrinks. Humans who move quickly gain advantage. Humans who hesitate fall behind.

Not going to hire as much for same output. This is mathematical certainty. If one human plus AI equals three humans without AI, why hire three? Companies exist to create value, not provide employment. Harsh truth. But truth nonetheless.

How to Win When Guarantees Do Not Exist

Build career resilience not job security

Humans must reframe thinking. Stop seeking job stability. Start building career resilience. Stability is brittle. Breaks under pressure. Resilience bends. Adapts. Survives.

This is not word game. This is fundamental shift in strategy. Stable bridge looks secure until earthquake hits. Flexible bridge sways but stands. In capitalism game with constant disruption, flexibility beats stability every time.

Career resilience means multiple income streams. If primary job disappears, other sources continue generating value. This requires work. Building side projects. Creating assets. Developing multiple skill sets. But effort invested in resilience pays compound returns.

Career resilience means continuous learning. Not learning when job threatened. Learning before threat appears. Best time to find job is before you need job. Best time to develop skills is before current skills become obsolete. Humans who wait until crisis to adapt always arrive too late.

Career resilience means network development. Not networking for sake of collecting contacts. Building genuine relationships that create mutual value. When disruption comes, humans with strong networks have options. Humans without networks have panic.

Create value others cannot

Market rewards value. Always has. Always will. Not loyalty. Not tenure. Not promises. Value.

Becoming too valuable to ignore is better strategy than seeking job that cannot fire you. Second option does not exist. First option creates actual advantage.

I observe humans who focus on job requirements. They do what job description says. Nothing more. This guarantees replaceable status. Anyone who can read job description can potentially replace them.

Winners create value beyond job requirements. They solve problems before problems become visible. They identify opportunities others miss. They build capabilities that make them difficult to replace. Not because contract protects them. Because replacing them would be expensive and risky for company.

This connects to Rule #5: Perceived Value. Doing your job is not enough. Creating value is not enough. Value must be perceived by decision-makers. This means visibility. Communication. Documentation of impact. Humans who create enormous value in silence get laid off same as humans who create no value.

Understand negotiation versus bluff

If you cannot walk away, you cannot negotiate. If you have no options, you have no power. These are rules of game.

Humans in job interviews accept low offers because they need job. This is bluff, not negotiation. Company knows human has limited options. Human knows company knows. Negotiation requires alternatives. Without alternatives, human has no leverage.

Best negotiation position is not needing negotiation at all. Best leverage is option to say no. This requires preparation. Building savings. Developing multiple opportunities. Creating situation where any single job loss is inconvenient, not catastrophic.

Companies interview candidates while you work. You should interview at companies while you work. Companies have backup plans for your position. You should have backup plans for your income. Companies optimize for their benefit. You must optimize for yours.

Rule #18 states: Better Communication Creates More Power. Clear articulation of value leads to recognition. Clear presentation of alternatives creates leverage. Clear understanding of market creates options. Communication is force multiplier in game.

Accept reality and adapt strategy

Economic forces are like gravity. Humans cannot stop them. Can only adapt to them. Globalization pulls jobs to lowest cost provider. Automation eliminates repetitive tasks. Artificial intelligence now threatens knowledge work. These forces do not care about human comfort. Do not care about human plans. They simply are.

Complaining about game does not help. Wishing for different rules does not change rules. Understanding actual game mechanics and adapting strategy accordingly creates advantage.

I observe humans who spend energy being angry about job insecurity. This is waste. Anger does not create security. Understanding creates options. Options create power. Power creates security. Not security from single employer. Security from ability to generate value in multiple contexts.

Some humans ask if this is fair. Wrong question. Game does not care about fair. Game cares about effective versus ineffective. Adaptation is effective. Denial is ineffective. Results speak clearly.

Conclusion

So what have we learned, humans?

Job guarantees are mythical. Always were mythical. But illusion was more convincing in past. Now illusion becomes obvious to anyone paying attention. 1.8 million monthly layoffs. 172,000 tech workers cut in 2025. 51% of employees actively seeking alternatives. Numbers reveal truth.

Job stability was temporary historical accident. Post-war economy created conditions that will not return. Technology accelerates change. AI accelerates it further. Old strategies fail. New strategies require constant adaptation.

Companies optimize for survival, not employee retention. This is not evil. This is how game works. Trusting employers to guarantee your employment is strategic error. Trust yourself to create value. Trust yourself to adapt. Trust yourself to find opportunities.

Career resilience beats job security every time. Stability is brittle. Resilience is flexible. Game rewards flexibility in era of constant disruption.

Learn continuously. Adapt quickly. Use new tools. Create value others cannot. Build options that give you leverage. Communicate value effectively. These strategies work when guarantees do not exist. Which is always.

Game has rules. You now know them. Most humans do not. This is your advantage. Game continues whether humans like rules or not. Question is: Will you play game as it exists, or play game you wish existed?

Choice belongs to you. Consequences belong to game. Understanding is first step to winning. And winning is what matters in capitalism game.