We tend to assume that job security comes from the things we can put down on paper, the degree from the right college, the years of experience written on a CV, and the technical skills that took so long to learn. Those things matter, of course. But anyone who has spent their time in an office knows certain people have skills that no qualification quite explains.When they are away, the room feels a little different. When they speak, others listen carefullySo what is it that makes a person genuinely hard to replace?A popular Indian monk and IIT Alumnus, Gauranga Das, has shed light on this, and his answer is interesting because of his background. Before he took to saffron robes, he was an engineer who had tasted corporate life himself.
These 3 qualities make you irreplaceable at work, says IIT graduate-turned-monk Gauranga Das
Gauranga Das shares tips to stay irreplaceable at work
When people worry about staying relevant at work, they usually reach for the obvious and most popular choices, like certification, a few more years of experience, and a sharper set of technical skills.Gauranga Das suggests tips that truly make someone irreplaceable and posted about the same on his LinkedIn profile, “Not just your degree. Not just your years of experience. But these 3 qualities help you make irreplaceable at work.”
Staying calm when things are not in control
Gauranga Das advises to stay calm when the skies are grey, “You stay calm when everything is falling apart”, he further adds, “The one who thinks clearly under pressure is the one everyone turns to when it matters most.” Skills can be learned overtime but keeping the right composure only comes with practice.
Generosity towards the people around you
The most valuable and humane advice is to be compassionate and generous to your colleagues. He writes, “You lift the people around you instead of competing with them”. Instead of treating colleagues as rivals to be outdone, the most genuinely secure people lift others up, he adds, “The most secure people at work don’t see colleagues as competition. They make the room better just by being in it.”
How you treat people who cannot do anything for you
He writes down his third piece of advice in the most beautiful words, “You treat the office boy and the CEO with the same respect.” It is this advice that gives the whole idea its weight, he adds further and relates it to the advice of the Gita, “How you treat people who can do nothing for you says everything about your character. The Gita calls this समदर्शिता (Samadarshita) – seeing everyone with equal eyes.”.
He ties his advice to the teachings of the Gita
That habit of equal regard, he says, runs through the Bhagavad Gita as samadarshita, the idea of seeing everyone with an equal eye. He writes, “The Gita didn’t describe a perfect employee. It described a person who has mastered themselves first. Everything else follows.”For Das, this is not just a workplace tip, it is a centuries-old piece of advice about character that happens to be extremely useful in a plan office.
