While living in the U.S. and working, there is a phrase you will inevitably hear at least once.

It is called "at-will employment," which can be translated as "voluntary employment" in Korean.

I live in Dallas, but recently, my cousin who lives in Houston experienced being fired from his job, which made me feel this concept very realistically. He said he would fight legally because he was wrongfully terminated, but I realized how deeply rooted the cold system of American workplaces is.

Basically, at-will employment means that either the company or the employee can end the employment whenever they want.

From the company's perspective, they can say, "You are not to come in from tomorrow," and from the employee's perspective, they can say, "I won't be coming in from tomorrow." Unless specifically stated in a contract, the employment relationship can be terminated at any time, which is the basic principle. My cousin, who was used to the concept of regular employment in Korea, was completely unaware of this and was shocked by the sudden termination notice.

However, that does not mean that a company can fire someone without any reason or restrictions. It is prohibited to terminate someone for discriminatory, retaliatory, or illegal reasons. For example, firing someone based on race, gender, age, religion, disability, or pregnancy is illegal. Additionally, firing someone for whistleblowing or disciplining them for exercising rights protected by labor laws is also unlawful.

The problem is that proving this is not easy. My cousin claimed, "My boss fired me without any reason because he hates me," but the company provided the official explanation that "his performance was low." In such cases, if legal evidence cannot be gathered, it is nearly impossible to win a wrongful termination lawsuit.

From my observation, my cousin's struggle was essentially a process of confirming the power disparity between the company and the individual.

When he consulted a lawyer, he was told, "If there is no blatant discrimination or documentary evidence, the chances are low," and ultimately, the company managed to present itself as having followed legal procedures. The at-will employment system in the U.S. is legally designed to favor companies, so even if employees appeal their grievances, they often lack sufficient grounds to do so.

Listening to my cousin's story, I felt that Texas state law is employer-friendly, making it easier to terminate employees. Therefore, employees tend to prepare quietly. They keep their resumes updated, network consistently, and build personal emergency funds.

At first glance, this may seem unstable, but conversely, it also means that there is freedom to seek better opportunities without being tied to a company. In fact, I also left a job I didn't like in the past and changed jobs, and thanks to the at-will system, I was able to move without worrying about breaching a contract.

Of course, this system does not only have advantages. Especially for immigrants, people with language barriers, or families with financial difficulties, the anxiety of "not knowing when I might be fired" can be an enormous source of stress. After being fired, my cousin was deeply concerned about how to support his family's livelihood, and that anxiety ultimately led him to decide to fight against the company.

Ultimately, what I felt is that if you are working, you must prepare with the premise that "you can be fired at any time."

If you are terminated, it is right to leave the company immediately, and unless it is illegal, there are no guarantees. However, if the reason for termination falls under illegal motives such as discrimination or retaliation, there is room to fight legally. But even that is not easy, so realistically, constant job preparation and self-management are necessary.

Watching my cousin's struggle in Houston, feeling wronged, made me reconsider that American workplaces are indeed cold, but at the same time, opportunities are open. It is correct to say that the concept of a stable lifelong job essentially does not exist, and instead, the answer is to be prepared to find a new path at any time.