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Dan's Blog Surviving Layoffs
Dan's Blog Surviving Layoffs
Surviving Layoffs
Wednesday, 13 January 2010 21:17 | 
Written by Dan Schaefer
Today is my wife’s birthday, and I took a half day PTO from my day job so I could come home and be with her. We’re now getting ready to go shopping and then dinner.
Speaking of PTO, I indeed have a day-job. I’m not one of those rich bloggers that gets to work my own flexible hours from my home office. I’d like to be that successful someday soon. It will be good, I think, but I also know from experience that being self employed means you still work long hours. The only difference is that you don’t have much of a commute, and nobody laughs when you show up at the office wearing your pajamas.
You don’t get laid off, either.
At my day-job yesterday, we had a company-wide meeting to discuss the activities that took place during the day. About 28 people were given their walking papers, and the CEO thought it would be prudent to give a company-wide address so he could answer questions and put anxiety to rest. He gave the expected speech, citing that the economic downturn has created a difficult situation. Indeed, during this recession, my company has suffered a number of cutbacks that has given roughly 15 percent of the employees their walking papers. Fortunately, I was not among them today. I dodged the bullet … again.
I’ve dodged this particular bullet before. In fact, over the years of dodging such bullets, I’ve built up a list of suggestions I follow that are designed to keep me employed when the economy starts to go bad. Here it is:
- Whether times are good or bad, keep an eye on your company’s sales. If they’re going down, be prepared for bad news within your company. You need not have direct access to the sales numbers, as these numbers are often kept secret by law. But you can use your network of office buddies instead to catch any sales-related rumors as they float by. Rumors are generally not true in a specific sense, but they are usually based on an altered sense of truth, so use your own judgment.
- Similarly, keep an eye on your major customers’ earnings. When times get tough for them, you too will see tough times in a few months.
- Is your group contributing to the company’s bottom line? When times start to get tough, the accounting hawks will pick out the easy meat first. If you’re in a group that’s vulnerable, get out now. Don’t wait for times to get bad, because by that time, you’ll have to compete with others.
- How is your group perceived within your company? This is the political equivalent of the previous question. Your group may be contributing financially, but it could still lose on the political front. Sure, the first cuts will be from the groups that aren’t contributing to the bottom line, but as things get worse, there will be a second round of layoffs, and every group will fall under scrutiny. If your boss or department head is perceived badly within the company, his/her job is at risk, and from my experience, a boss will always take a few subordinates down with him.
- What can you do to personally contribute to your company’s bottom line? Don’t be afraid to approach managers in other departments and offer to do some things “on the side” to help them out. This can actually benefit your attitude, because maybe you’ll get to work on something you enjoy. (In my case, I volunteered to do some Flash animation work. It was fun! And it helped keep me in good standing within other groups.)
- Stay smart, current and educated. Know the latest trends in your career and be among the first to demonstrate expertise in them.
- Remain humble. Don’t think you cannot lose your job. It can happen at any time, for any reason. Likewise, don’t begin thinking that the company cannot survive without you. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve seen so many instances where people forgot about the luxury of having a job and squandered it because their egos got damaged, and they launched an inter-departmental war. They’re among the first to be given their walking papers, and often the company is better off without them. I’m not saying that you need to kowtow to your boss; on the contrary, treat your boss with respect, but don’t be afraid to expect respect in return. And never lose your respect for the job itself. Because, once the paychecks stop, you’ll start hearing the ticking of your personal financial bomb. It’s set to explode a lot quicker than you might imagine.
Up to this point, I’ve managed to keep from the ranks of the laid off workers. I’ve been in the workforce for nearly 30 years, so I’ve weathered a lot of storms. There are a number of reasons I’ve never suffered a layoff, many of which I’ve captured in the list above. But there’s one element I could not capture in this list: Luck. Sometimes I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I think luck is good to have, but I don’t rely on it alone.
Best,
Dan
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