How To Keep Your Job (and Flexibility!) in a Recession

You must be kidding: Employees have been asked to "take on extra work" for the past 10 years since the last tech bubble burst. How do you think companies can sustain the great Greenspan theory of continuous (even accelerated) productivity gain over these years??? We've been asked to work with reduced staff, and the more than double the workload (there are hard statistics on this and not just my "feelings").

My point is, there comes at time when even if you work doubly hard, it still won't be good enough when the push comes to shove and companies want to cut costs. Communication is always necessary, but hey, when even your manager is being axed, there is nothing - NOTHING - you can do to save a job.

I think by working hard, and keeping in touch is the best way to try to keep your job, even after you lose your job is the best route to take. If you leave on good terms, and keep in contact then they will make a good reference letting you bounce back to a job fast. But tiddle you are right, there is nothing you can do when even your manager is getting canned.

Good article. More tips here at 5 Tips for Saving Your Job.

It's great to see others feel the same way about many of the things I felt intuitively. I might also add that many people focus a bit to much on keeping their present job. In reality, this is not very practical with declining wages, changing business sectors, and more and more companies eliminating retirement benefits. So the wise thing to do is concentrate on keeping a good paying, high-benefit job. I recently ran across a blog that list several tips on keeping a job. The link is: http://africanamericanpragmatist.blogspot.com/

You must be kidding: Employees have been asked to "take on extra work" for the past 10 years since the last tech bubble burst. How do you think companies can sustain the great Greenspan theory of continuous (even accelerated) productivity gain over these years??? We've been asked to work with reduced staff, and the more than double the workload (there are hard statistics on this and not just my "feelings").

My point is, there comes at time when even if you work doubly hard, it still won't be good enough when the push comes to shove and companies want to cut costs. Communication is always necessary, but hey, when even your manager is being axed, there is nothing - NOTHING - you can do to save a job.

I laid off 20% of my staff last week. It was so sad. One was a 10-year employee who is a personal friend.

Who goes first?

1. Those who cost the company more than they produce. It doesn’t matter how smart and educated you are, if you are expensive and you and your department don't bring a lot of money into your company, you may be let go. Go into sales or another highly productive department.

2. The selfish. The whiners. The unlikable. Those with bad attitudes about what they will or will not do to help the company.

3. Consultants. They make big money and have no loyalty, nor do they carry any specific responsibility.

4. Sales people on a high base salary who are not hitting their sales goals.

Who will keep their jobs to the bitter end?

1. Loyal, positive people who are cross trained in every area of the company. People who can “do it all.”

2. My Accounting manager, Customer Service manager, the Accounts Receivable/Bookkeeper, and a really smart webmaster. Why? Because my accounting people can also run the warehouse shipping system, and can pack and ship if need be. My customer service manager can handle every part of the ordering system.

3. Commissioned sales people, or sales people on a very low base salary.

Who will be the next people to go?
People who produce new product ideas. If our economy goes down the tubes, no one will buy the product without massive marketing dollars. So it may be best to market what we already have. No point in investing very much toward an uncertain future. Put out a minimum of new product, but cut the rest.

People always hate to talk about when they are laid off. But as it has become every day's news headline since Yahoo started it with cutting 1500 of its task force last year, now a need of platform has been in demand where people can express their selves in words how they are feeling about their company, whey the got laid off was that justified or not.
And every thing they want to tell anonymously.And www.layoffgossip.com is providing you that platform.

I have a very close friend, who graduated from Harvard. Worked for ML for over 8 years, last year he’s laid off too. OMG, now the banking industry is badly hurt, how long it would take for those financial background like him get back to the job market. Banking jobs are not there as much as before as easily seen on http://www.joboutlets.com and other job sites in the region