Save Your Job by Calling Your Employer's Bluff and Renegotiating

Wow! The unemployment figures released last Friday do not have to be as high as they are. Firing people in a frenzied economy is usually good public relations for a publicly-traded company because it's the most visible way to cut costs. And for privately-owned firms, it's simply "monkey see, monkey do," as they follow the patterns of the public companies in the news.

But beware if you're an employee being offered "the package" or a "buyout." This is simply a trick. The "buyout" and "package" are white collar words for "You're fired! Now take some extra money and don't sue us!"

The fact is, it could take anywhere from 24 to 36 months to find a new job. That's especially bad news in today's recessionary economy, in which skyrocketing costs for essentially everything and disasters on Wall Street lead the headlines. So rather than simply accepting "the package," you should consider calling your boss's bluff instead and asking to renegotiate the terms of your employment.

This doesn't always mean taking less money. You can suggest working fewer days or eliminating certain perks. When your boss says "it's nothing personal, just a numbers thing," challenge him or her. What is that number? No, you don't have to automatically volunteer to take a pay cut. But if you're fired (or fear you are about to be)--and are told it's a "numbers thing," not performance--I firmly believe in today's unusual economic climate that you're far better off taking steps to hold onto your current job. And if that means renegotiating your hours or compensation, do it, especially if you're over 40.

In the current economic climate, it's crucial to come up with creative strategies such as these to save the job you have, rather than taking a buyout and crossing your fingers that a new job is waiting around the corner. This is not the time to reinvent yourself and go looking for that dream job that does not exist during a recession. And while you're more likely to find a new position in the industry you're already in, that's far from a sure thing in the current job market. Today more than ever, do whatever it takes to bulletproof the job you already have.

Stephen Viscusi is the author of Bulletproof Your Job (HarperCollins) and can be reached at [e-mail].

Comments

[TimothyHorrigan]

The recommendation to offer to take a pay cut strikes me as grossly irresponsible. For starters, if they take you up on your offer, you are making less money. For another, your salary serves as a rough measure of how valuable you are to the company, hence the less you are paid, the fewer resources will be made available to you, the less training you will be given, the less attention will be given to your achievements and (paradoxically) the more likely you are to be downsized. I suppose the idea behind the pay cut suggestion is that "they" will make it up to you at some point in the future, but circumstances beyond their contro will almost always make it impossible for them to make good on their promise.

Taking a pay cut rarely if ever pays off in the end. And they wouldn't be paying you your current salary if they didn't think they were making a profit from you anyway!

[Stephen Viscusi - Huffpost Blogger]

Dear Tim,
Your opinion is naive. I have surveyed several Human Resources executives, mostly from the publishing and TV industries in which I work. They tell me that they would replace people on a dime based on budget, not worth. Though I agree that these industries are not mainstream, I can't help but believe that this reality transcends these industries to be applicable to everyone in the work force. High-priced "fancy pants," especially in the publishing industry - an example would be Judith Regan - have an over-inflated sense of self-worth. This is an example, in my opinion, of how most publishing execs will end up if they believe their own press. If they end up on Google too much, they may end up on the unemployment line next. And they rightly should be, because they're being paid for nothing. Don't worry about the unemployer making it up to you - worry about how to pay your mortgage, health insurance, and family expenses. In this economy, you have to worry about surviving. Your ego isn't going to keep you alive, unless you know where Judith Regan is - and I certainly don't.
--Stephen Viscusi can be reached at [e-mail] and his website is www.bulletproofyourjob.com.