The "I'm just-glad-I-have-a-job-and-I'm-not-doing-anything-to-risk-it" syndrome is going around like a bad flu.

Symptoms include the inclination to just do your job and not ask questions. To keep your head down and not challenge the status quo when you know something is awry. To not speak up for fear of rocking the boat. All in the hope that no one will notice you and your job will stay safe.

You've got part of that right. No one will notice you. In fact, your supervisor, customers and others with influence may be wondering why you're taking up space. What are you doing that makes you valuable enough to stay on the payroll at a time when we need all the innovative help we can get?

This tiptoe-through-the-tulips approach will not keep you safe. You're putting your job at risk if you don't give your employer a reason to keep you.

A good reason to keep you is simple: You do work that helps the company solve its immediate problems and ongoing issues related to delivering its service or product and staying competitive. And you're not afraid to offer up ways that have never been tried to accomplish that.

I'm not saying you'll guarantee your security. You couldn't do that six months ago or six years ago. But you do have the chance to make a big difference now and — assuming your business makes it — in the future.

So ask yourself: How does what I do every day translate into helping my company deliver what we make or offer? What do I notice that inhibits smooth operations or good customer interaction? What new ideas can I offer to help my company do business more efficiently? What can I do to keep customers and reshape our future? And if your company is teetering on the edge: How can I help our company keep its doors open?

It doesn't take much to get a whiff of the fear permeating the air. Not to mention the airwaves. The news itself is bad enough. You have to find a way to rise above it.

And you have to critically analyze comments spouted by others — including news reporters whose job is to deliver news, not dispense career advice.

Case in point: The other day, I heard a reporter on a television news program say, "Don't put your job at risk." No kidding. But a comment like that in these jittery times translates into "Keep your head down. Don't rock the boat."

I know this is not nearly as titillating, but I'd suggest you worry about this: If you can't offer creative, innovative solutions to help your company get through this tough time, who needs you? So stop acting like a potted plant. While plants do important things like emit oxygen into the atmosphere, they basically just sit there.

Quit waiting for someone else to come around to your desk and tell you what problems need to be solved and how to do it. Quit waiting to be asked what needs to be done to get your company through this difficult time.

It's natural to want to hold onto and defend what you have now. But hoping nothing will ever change is foolish.

Besides, what kind of joy can you get from your work when you're not challenged to do your best and be a part of the solution? What kind of satisfaction will you take home at the end of the day if you don't feel you've made a difference?

Here's your chance. Why not be glad to have it?