I believe the vast majority of us are expendable in the professional sense. Sometimes it feels like no one can do our jobs like we can, but the truth is most companies will be just fine if you get hit by a bus tomorrow. There are some exceptions for truly world-class talent but for most of us, we are replaceable. I think my work would struggle a little bit to find someone to do my job as I'm the only one who can do it in our tiny 8 person company, but with time and training they would be just fine, or maybe even better with a new skill set.

I don't think it's true outside of work, when it comes to personal relationships. Maybe in a general sense, like if you get divorced your ex may very likely find a new spouse, so you're replaceable in that sense. New best friends, things like that.

Interesting question!

I agree with Chi.

Long gone are the days where there is company loyalty to the employee. Sometimes two people might be needed to replace one but it is still at a lower cost.

Obviously, we are all expendable. But, if an employer told me that, I would probably blurt out, "So are you, I was looking for a job when I found this one!"

You keep valued employees by building them up, not tearing them down!

Absolutely!

I know I am expendable but my husband doesn't think I am.

I think too many people keep working past the time when they would like to, and should, retire out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to the company. They think that no one else can do their job, or at least not as well as they are doing it... But no one is irreplaceable. Retire when you still have a chance to enjoy your retirement. And even if you're nowhere near retirement age, don't stay in a job where you have excess stress (from whatever source - your boss, your coworkers, your commute, etc.). You are the only person who can take care of you - so do what's best for you, not what you think is best for the company.

This is why we are different from other species. We know that we ARE, that there was a time when we WEREN'T and then again the time will come when we AREN'T anymore - at least in the physical sense. (I'm not going to even touch the spiritual stuff here.) Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes not. I watch my dog and wonder what it would be like to be her, what would I be thinking? Probably not much at all except for the experiences of being conscience of the physical world around me and to have sensations such as joy, pain, hunger, comfort, etc. But then just being conscious of only being in the now is how many meditate and find bliss. So is being a dog a state of bliss?? When I am in a very crowded place such as a city close to us that I lived in pretty much all my life - Tampa - I feel very expendable and non-important in the scheme of things. But when I am with loved ones or even by myself and communing with God or simply contemplating nature or doing something that I love to do I feel very important and not expendable at all. It's a state of mind, and if we are lucky we feel like we are important in the universe and feel that our loved ones think so, too.

Angela, he knows expendable too. So much so, it's what motivates him to have a life outside of his career, unlike the majority in his field. I think it keeps him balanced. He's a caring guy. Truly

We are all expendable........In jobs and in life. We may be missed, but life goes on, as it should.

Not in the sense of what I do in my life. If something happened to me, my husband, who is an invalid, would no longer be able to be as independent as he is, as far as living in his own home, and I believe his health would decline rapidly, both mentally and physically. My animals would also suffer. My horses are mostly very old and would have no where to go that it would be guaranteed that they would live out the rest of their lives being cared for. They were unwanted to begin with. Being put down, would be a kindness, but they would probably be shuffled off to auction. Not looking good for my other animals....dogs and cats.

I'm not saying life wouldn't go on. I am saying the ones I care the most about, their lives would be changed, and not in a good way.

In the sense that as an employee, yes, there is someone who can take your place.

I would not be easily replaceable, especially for my husband, even if I didn't have animals.

On the job? Of course, there’s always going to be someone or something that can take your place and eventually all memory of you will quickly fade, but when it comes to family, no way. Just like each person brings something unique to the table at work, they also bring something unique to the table within the family dynamic. After a loss, we may go on, we may even find new partners or a way of life, but there’s always going to be an empty hole that’s been left by loved ones lost.

Nobody can replace family. I think of great grandparents I never met in real life, but know through my parents and grandparents. I am grateful every day for the people who helped form my family and rooted us in rich and meaningful traditions and values.

At work, some people are more important than others. Key person insurance is a testament to that fact.

On the whole, people are replaceable, systems work and keep organizations moving along.

I have seen people who retired face culture shock when they drop by to visit and find the same people who used to hang on their every look and word not have time to even visit with them. I have heard people who don't have hobbies after retirement don't live as long. Being ephemeral is just one of those things to me. I have noticed that moving so often as I have barely makes a ripple in the world I left. so it goes. I keep the people who have passed fresh in my mind, the ones who mattered to me. I know when I go that goes too. Perhaps that is the sadder part.

Expendable and replaceable have different meanings and uses. I suspect the original intent is to express people being replaceable. Something that's expendable is consumed in use and then disposed of. They're not synonyms.

Most of use are not so significantly unique as to not be replaceable, like it or not. Why do I think so? Just observe how often it happens in so many contexts, occupational and organizational as well as personal.

expendable definition: of little significance when compared to an overall purpose, and therefore able to be abandoned.

expendable synonyms:

• dispensable
• unnecessary
• unimportant
• replaceable
• nonessential
• inessential
• adjunct
• limited
• redundant
• sacrificable
• superfluous
• collateral
• finite
• worthless
• inconsiderable
• disposable
• throwaway
• exhaustible

Note that consumable was not on any list of synonyms I could find.

A unique approach, to look something up out of context. This is about people and common language usage.

I've heard of people being described as being replaceable, but never expendable.

The sense of the word I'm familiar when applied to people would only be as with a description of captive slave laborers as expendable. Used until they couldn't work any longer and then disposed of. Consistent with your definition, used and then abandoned.

Have you ever heard that applied to people in a normal sense, other than maybe a disgruntled striker or labor activist? I never have.

Everyone is expendable, employment wise. They may not find someone as good or as experienced as whoever they replace, (or maybe they find someone better) but in the end they will make it work.

As far as death, life goes on. And with each important person in ones life that dies,ones life changes in some way. But it goes on.

SO often tells me that I am irreplaceable,but what else is he supposed to say?!?!? LOL! The other day I after a day digging holes and trenches I took long hot shower and I told him that I felt like a new woman. He told me to get back in there and don't come out until I change back to the old one!

I would find my life very difficult and sad without him......

"A unique approach, to look something up out of context. This is about people and common language usage."

Nothing out of context about it. Expendable doesn't have separate definitions for things vs people. And it is commonly used in this manner, as this thread is a clear example. You can also find it used in all sorts of sample sentences being applied specifically to people......and not just slaves either :-) Most typically with respect to the workplace or one's job

Because you are not familiar or comfortable with that usage does not mean it is invalid. Or incorrect.

Timely question as I am retiring in 3 weeks. Since I gave my official notice, I’ve heard a lot of, ‘What are we going to do without you?’ That’s kind, but they survived without me before I arrived and they will after. Some things probably won’t be done the same or at all, but the place will not cease to exist. The sad part for me is, they will hire a second person, split my job and both get paid more than me. My position has already been reclassified to a higher grade as the candidate pool wasn’t to their liking.

15 days and counting.

You're simply being argumentative to suggest what I have or haven't heard. Or guessing what I am or am not comfortable with. Go ahead.

^ triggered a thought ... "They Were Expendable" was an old WWII movie ... did it refer to people or ?? So I looked it up and here's a quote from the TCM Diary site: In an increasingly dire situation, the characters stand, looking to the skies, looking out to sea, hoping for intervention from the Air Force, from a fleet of battleships, hoping that they aren’t, in fact, “expendable.” In a military context, “expendable” refers to supplies or equipment that can be sacrificed in the pursuit of a larger goal. But over the course of They Were Expendable, one of the greatest war films ever made, it’s people who are “expendable.” It’s right there in the title. There’s nothing to be done about it. Soldiers understand it. It’s war.

Sad, isn't it?

Back to the OP, Robb your boss sounds like a wise man -- a pleasure to work for.

As for mortality, "The end is as much a blessing as the beginning." That's one of the last things my grandfather told me.

"You're simply being argumentative to suggest what I have or haven't heard. "
LOL!! Gimme a break!! You yourself stated you had never heard of a person being described as expendable. It ls right there in black and white!

And despite being presented with various evidence to the contrary - lots of online dictionaries and thesauruses, as you apparently don't believe me - you are the one that is persisting in the argument. There are even various business and HR publications addressing this issue specifically titled as the "expendable employee" or something very similar. There are apparently a great many who accept this as common usage...........

Nhbaskets, that is incredibly galling.

Bye

I appreciate the comments that were on topic and gave me loads of food for thought. I think I agree with all that was said. We have to make a difference somehow, someplace, sometime. And know that we'll be missed. It doesn't matter if it is our pets, friends, or our community. As long as we know that they'll miss us. Work, eh. It's a paycheck. Some of us get lucky and actually enjoy the group we get to hang around with, and do some good in this world. Chaplin was right, we're all a part of the machine, though.

Yes. I suppose that people are easily replaced, but in the time that you were here or there, you made a difference to the people in your lives or at work. That difference that you made remains and is not replaceable.

That is it exactly blfenton. I love your distillation. Perfection :)

The last job I had I was there for 12 1/2 years. I had to wear several hats and the pay never reflected that. (Of course - Publishing.) When the powers that be made the decision to close our office and send the work overseas, it was obvious that if any of us who they were letting go had been under the illusion that we weren't expendable, we were proved dead wrong. They kept 4 managers/coordinators on the payroll to do the managerial work at home and my job was split into 4 parts and I was made to train all 4 of them so that I could go home at the end of 2 months with a bonus. Since I didn't have a job in sight I did it for the extra money. One of the worst 2 months in my life. But it taught me a lesson in that no matter how hard a worker you are or how loyal to the company, there is that bottom line. I will admit that in previous lay-offs the Director did go to bat for me and insisted that she needed me there but when they got to closing the doors that didn't wash anymore.

While what people do at work can affect others and the mission of the job site, not all contributions are positive and not all effects are desired. Managers can only do so much sometimes to help stragglers perform better. For too many, the best they that they can or want to do may fall short. People like that are unfortunately too numerous than they should be. Fortunately their impact on a workplace is usually overcome when they leave (whether voluntarily or not) and doesn't remain.

The boss considers you are expendable if he can find a replacement.

In times of business downturns, you are expendable when let go or laid off.

LOL of course we are all replaceable. Look how long the world has gone on as one by one people retire/quit/die. Not sure what a boss is getting at when he says that, but truth is there is always SOMEONE waiting on the side lines. ALWAYS. AND if you think your spin on your job is special it might be but that doesn't mean the way you do things won't go with you!! Because it works with your headship does not mean it will work for the person who replaces you. They too will and should get the same opportunity to put their mark on THEIR new job. In personal relationships it's a tish different. What we bring is special and unique between two people--but again when we are gone our loved ones will find new people to get their needs met.

In something of a different context ... but in our own lives, do many of us make ourselves "expendable" ... sometimes without paying as much attention as we need to?

Quite a number these days are living as many years retired as they did employed. You've heard it: "35 years at work -35 years retired"!

Have you made a plan so that you would would be able to finance such a prospect?

And how are you progressing on putting that plan into action?

Or are you shooting yourself in the foot ... for 30 or 40 years?

Much better to run out of days ... years ... before one runs out of money ...

... than running out of money first!

ole joyful ... with a roof, food and car ... at 90+

And getting drug back to top of thread at least a dozen times ... and being involuntarily posted, then having to redo some more posting that one thought one had done ... tests one's patience!

o j

It's a very, very small percentage of people who live more years retired than employed. Except for those who retire at a young age.

What's most typical of large numbers of people is to "retire" with only or mostly a social security/governmental monthly payment for support. These payouts are well below the poverty level and do not provide enough money for a reasonable existence. It's welfare for senior citizens, nothing more.

People with only social security income are trapped if they can't receive monthly supplements from other sources, like their families as an example. In my area, an unexpected source of "wealth" is the appreciation in real estate homeowners have enjoyed after decades of home ownership. Reverse mortgages and home equity loans are popular and common to access equity.

Talking about retirement and pension. Sadly, 'they' (as in who is paying) are counting on you dying within five years after retirement ... if not before. I suspect that is why, since our life expectancy age has risen by approximately 5 yrs, the date we can draw old age pension has risen by 5 yrs. With all the medical breakthroughs & life support that continues to extend our lives, it will certainly be hard to maintain any level of support for the elderly. Very scary for those who do not have extra income coming in.

Normal retirement age is raised to reduce costs. It's a tactic used with public and private pensions programs alike, both for workers as well as the governmental ones that cover the general population.

US Social Security rules allow recipients to begin monthly payments up to 4 years before normal retirement age. Or up to 4 years late. Monthly payments are actuarially adjusted to be equivalent as among the different choices for anyone living to the mid-70s. If you're certain you'll live longer or die younger than the life expectancy age used in the calcs, then other choices than normal retirement age may be indicated. But, of course, no one knows.

In any event, Social Security does not provide adequate means to cover living expense for many recipients. Even at the low levels of payments, the annual commitment is huge in the federal budget and not honestly affordable or sustainable at current levels. Anyone have a solution to offer?

I don't know that there is any real solution that everyone would approve. When I hear that it costs $85,000 a year to house one (1) person in jail, many simply with mental health problems or addictions, it make me wonder why more facilities or treatment centers are not created to help put more people in the work force instead of on welfare. That to me would be money well spent, increase our workforce, and channel the money to something more worthwhile. Mind you, that's just an opinion and certain doesn't come from any real experience. Now we are really off track ... sorry.

Yes and no. Yes my jobs at work may be transferable to others. Since I'm here I'm probably not completely expendable. My very existence means that I belong. I have a place here even though it might be not as important as another person. To me at least that means not expendable.

Now that I am older, the concept of being expendable is a big relief. It means that I can without guilt fill my winter years with the pleasures of retired life, occasional grandchild visits and binged TV shows, because others are in place to do the heavy lifting needed in the world.

That doesn't mean I can't think, plan, help others, etc. but it does mean that if I just am too tired to manage something, and that happens these days more often than I would like to admit, that the sky isn't going to fall.