If you believe in making yourself irreplaceable, beware: If your skills become outdated, your employer shifts focus, or your hoarding of knowledge conflicts with team dynamics, your unique value lessens. Sometimes, too, organizations are simply forced to reduce headcount. Irreplaceable doesn’t mean indispensable.
We hear it repeatedly, and our hearts go to those who question, “How could I have been laid off? I made myself irreplaceable! No one else can do what I do—they need me!” A recent Wall Street Journal article, The Big Work Lie: Being Indispensable Will Save Your Job, reminded us how damaging this mindset can be.
“Being the only person with certain skills or information might feel like insurance,” writes WSJ’s Callum Borchers. “But it can lead to selfishness—and a surprise ouster by a boss who prefers team players.”
As College Employment Advisor and The Muse Contributor Kat Boogaard adds, “It’s very likely that you bring significant value to your team and your company…However, it’s important to note that there’s a very big difference between being irreplaceable and just being hard to replace. As a matter of fact, I would argue that falling into the trap of thinking you’re completely matchless is a recipe for disaster. You never want to become so confident that you assume you can do no wrong—that you’re so talented and skilled at your job that you’re immune to any sort of negative consequences, no matter how badly you behave toward others.”
Another important reason irreplaceable employees can get the boot is that the skills that catapulted them to greatness become outdated. We’ve shared this scary statistic before: Executives believe nearly half of the skills that existed in the 2023 workforce won’t be relevant by 2025. Knowing something that others don’t—whether it’s a proprietary legacy system or how the CEO likes their coffee—can only protect your job if that skill is valued. Systems update, and CEOs leave. Companies decide to shift priorities or direction. And then where will you be? You may still be irreplaceable, per se, but if no one is concerned with replacing your skills, then irreplaceable does not equal indispensable.
Rather, the ability to learn new skills and adapt to changing business needs serves as better job security over time. Other soft skills related to critical thinking and problem-solving will always remain valuable for the same reason.
One last reason holding onto the idea of being irreplaceable can be damaging is that it isn’t good for your health and well-being.
“Trying to be irreplaceable can be dangerous…It’s a direct path to burnout or even an early grave,” says future of work author and speaker Laetitia Vitaud. “If you cannot be replaced, that implies you are the only person able to perform certain tasks, and that nothing happens when you’re on vacation, sick or exhausted. Being irreplaceable means you will have a high workload and the stress to go with it. ‘We can’t manage without you!’ This might sound like a compliment, but perhaps it is simply the best way to enslave an employee?”
Carefully consider how feeling or striving to be irreplaceable may affect your health and happiness. Focus on how what you bring to the table serves your team and the organization now and into the future. And always, always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Because, sometimes, you can be truly irreplaceable, but change happens anyway.
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