How Safe is Your Job?

Downsizing has become a fact of life in the business world over the past few decades. It doesn’t matter whether economic times are good or bad. The bottom line is that companies are looking at their financial strength and if it means working with a lean number of employees, so be it. Today, however, companies must be careful on how the downsizing is handled.

The term “layoff” is frequently used when companies downsize, but a layoff is different than downsizing. A layoff happens when an employee is asked to leave a company temporarily when times are slow, but will be asked to return to work when business picks up. The separation between the employee and the company is permanent during a downsizing.

The first major downsizing in the U.S. was done by General Electric Company in the 1980s. GE was faced with major competition and in order to stay competitive they released 104,000 workers out of the 402,000 that they employed. General Electric has been one of the stock market’s best performers ever since.

According to an article in Money Magazine in January, 2004 there is a structural change happening in the U.S. economy. Many jobs are being outsourced overseas, causing many companies to close manufacturing facilities in the U.S. One major player in the textile industry, Pillowtex of Kannapolis, N.C., a town with a population of only 39,000, closed it’s doors in 2003. Sixteen plants were closed and over 5,500 jobs were lost. It was the largest single job loss at a textile plant in United States history.

Another researcher estimates that by 2015 over 3 million jobs will be sent overseas or rendered obsolete by technology. Between 1991 and 2003 there were 2.9 million jobs lost in the private sector, 2.56 million of which were from manufacturing. It is much cheaper to send the jobs overseas. In some countries you can hire as many as twenty workers for the same money it would take to pay one person here in the U.S.A.

It has been said that downsizing is “probably the most pervasive yet understudied phenomenon in the business world.” Since 1980, one-third of all U.S. households has had a family member laid off at some point in their career. Not only has downsizing been reactive such as when business slows down and cuts need to be made, but also proactive. Proactive downsizing has been termed “right-sizing” Companies are asking employees to job-share or take early retirement. Some employees are immediately released, while others are given a somewhat generous notice of 60 – 90 days.

Organizations must be careful in today’s world when it comes to who the company decides to let go. Lawsuits are filed for wrongful discharge if there is any hint that the employee who was let go is an excellent employee. Many people think they are invaluable to an organization when actually they are a hindrance. The ego driven person usually complains all the time about why he/she doesn’t make enough money, doesn’t like the boss or other employees, and never thinks he can do anything wrong. Unfortunately, if this person’s case does go to court a jury will usually find in his or her favor because it is one person versus a corporation. The jury will feel sorry for the former employee even though most or all of the evidence to show that the employee is right is circumstantial.

Years ago employees could rely on starting with a company and staying with that same company for forty-plus years. This is no longer the case. There is no longer such a thing as job security. Today, workers must be model employees, work harder than ever before, and try to make themselves invaluable to their employers by learning multiple jobs within the company. “Job security” has given way to “skill security.” Even then, there is no guarantee that their job is safe.

If an older employee is let go it may be more difficult for him/her to find a job that pays as well as the job from which they were just released. There are many college graduates entering the workforce that can be paid less than someone who has been with a company for a long time. Experience can actually work against the older prospective employee.

It used to be that sixty percent of downsizing victims found jobs that paid them more money and/or had better benefits. There were many small companies out there waiting to hire the many talented, hardworking people that entered the workplace each year.

Now, this is not the case. With the U.S. economy in a tailspin, employers are now letting people go in record numbers. More people are collecting unemployment benefits than at any time in United States history.

People can no longer afford to wait and see what happens if they lose their job regardless of how good of an employee they think they are. People in the workforce need to be proactive and find something else to replace their current employment situation. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JOB SECURITY!

I have a vehicle which can allow you to be financially self sufficient within three to six months if you are willing to put in the time. The time is now to start an at home internet based business while you still have the job and still have some money to get the new business going.