SOME PEOPLE NEED no indication as to the precarious nature of their job status. For instance, the team in Washington could face multiple reasons for a sacking - the war in Iraq, a sliding economy, rambunctious congressmen and second-in-commands who shoot their 'friends' during gated hunting trips.
However, in the real world it is a little more subtle and extremely important to know if you are living on borrowed time.
Not all employment situations work according to expectation, and the ability to sense approaching waves on the horizon can ensure you control the situation, should your days be numbered. By staying ahead of this curve you can take action to correct the situation, or hunt for another job.
Have you achieved your Peter Principle? Are you a case study for Laurence Peter's theory, which states that staff are eventually promoted to their highest level of competence, after which further promotion raises them to a level at which they may become incompetent and where they have little or no chance of being promoted any further?
Perhaps you are under-performing in a position at which you were once good? Have you received a disapproving appraisal from your boss, or missed out on your bonus?
How about you and your manager? Have relations broken down? Are you now omitted from the usual Friday memo?
The reasons for the above are many: from unhappiness with responsibilities to your individual principles colliding with those of the organisation; from changes in the firm's business objectives that have reduced your skills value to the organisation to a merger or buyout.