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Reader question: Please explain this headline: Obamacare could free workers from ‘job lock’ (MSN.com, September 6, 2013). My comments: Literally, job lock means you’re locked in your job. Locked in your job? Yeah, the same as you’re locked in the house. A roommate thinks he/she is the last one to leave the apartment and therefore locks the door behind them. And since your apartment can only be unlocked from the outside, you get stuck inside the house. You can but stay indoors until one of your roommates comes back home – unless, of course, you want to risk injury by jumping out the window. A job lock, on the other hand, refers to the situation where you’re stuck with your current job, unable to move on, jumping ship or starting your own business. Last weekend, I met a few friends, all old cronies from school and, over tea, the topic of jobs and career paths was broached. One man said he’s very satisfied with his current employer, an American oil company, because he’s paid well. Not only that, he said he was particularly happy with the benefits that come with the job. For example, aside from the normal medical insurance and everything, he gets a month of paid holiday for every month of work, extra subsidies for work in the countryside and outfield and, if he were an American, he’d even get a monthly stipend for house repair back home... I pointed out that “they mean to treat you well so that you’ll work for them for life”, hence missing all other opportunities out there at large. I didn’t mean to sound contrarian or anything, but just thought it might be worth our while pointing out the other side of the coin from time to time. Another friend, of course, was on hand to testify that he’s had more than a dozen jobs over the years and the constant change of scene has worked out for him just fine. He’s now self employed. | 
