the anxious employee

I don’t know if anyone faced this situation of meeting someone in your line of work, where they are constantly worried about losing their job to {automation, cost-cutting, downsizing, restructuring, AI}. They get so worried that they are willing to work till retirement in their company’s safe space with no hike in salary. They are willing to avoid any kind of promotion because they think (maybe true idk) the ones targeted are the ones earning more money with a higher band. Is this what goes through everyone’s mind who is in tech these days?

I mean I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have these insecurities. But I had them when I was about to make a big decision or when I was about to take a loan for example. Not every day. In my case, I can’t even answer this simple question when I enter a new company - “Do you see yourself working in this company till your retirement age?” 🤷‍♂️

I guess nobody really “wants” to work for someone else till old age. When does this fear of instability disappear in a workplace? Do you guys think about getting laid-off in your workplace and take precautions? I have heard this concept of having emergency funds, saving up 6x of your salary and keep it as FD separately. I guess that’s basic security deposit. Maybe this fear dies down a bit when you acquire enough skills, have enough $ and built up enough connections in your network with your reputation. That is definitely not your average tech person in the rat race.

Even with those, aren’t you still anxious?