Would you take a 5% paycut?
 

If Management approached you and said that they would be laying off 3 people if they couldn't get everyone to agree to take a 5% paycut, everyone agreed and you were the last one to approach, would you do it?

You might ask: Who are the 3 people?

Valid question, if you're giving up part of your salary, you want to know where it's going, right?

The three people are:

1: Some guy in the back cubical who keeps to himself, never bothers anyone and does his job.

2: A jerk you hate at the office who always steals your food out of the fridge, runs their mouth about things they know nothing about, slacks at their job goofing around and annoying just about everyone.

3: Your best friend who JUST had a baby and their spouce recently loss their job.

What would you do?

I'd arrange for #2 to have an "accident", and keep the 5%.

JC

3 problems, 3 solutions.

Yes.

Would it suck, would I complain about it? Yes. But we've already had both a formal "layoff," as well as a "redistribution of workload" (where the 12 people who lost their jobs were told "this isn't a layoff, we won't be calling you back, so go find other jobs") and that's just in the last few months. In the 8 years I've worked here, I've seen more layoffs and reorganizations than I can count. And each and every one of them just plain SUCKS...

Sometimes people you like lose their jobs; sometimes people you don't like lose their jobs. But the bottom line is, they're ALL people, they all have lives and families and other personal things we may or may not be aware of. Just because we don't "like" them doesn't make them any less human, or make them losing a job any less craptacular.

No, I wouldn't ask who they are. It's not my business, nor should management be obligated to tell you. It shouldn't factor in, IMO. That makes it personal, and it's a business decision.

For me, the decision would be based on choosing to take the paycut to either a.) save the company money in hopes it will improve their overall financial outlook, or b.) save some people their jobs in a very poor job market, where chances are, they won't find employment for a long time, or a combination of both factors. In either case, the WHO isn't important to me.

If you're trying to "do the right thing," you just do it. You don't base the decision on "Do I like that person? Do I not like that person?"

Yeah I would...and just did. We laid off 11 people AND took a 4% paycut. There was no option. Also, no 401k match anymore.

:panic:

We just had our quarterly meeting last week... no profit sharing (can't 'share' what we didn't make), and corporate wide wage freeze (so those of us who've taken on all KINDS of extra work this year are just going to have to be glad we still have JOBS rather than complain about not getting a raise).

My company is small, and my time here winding down soon of my own doing.

However, if I were not leaving, and I was asked to take a paycut, the answer would be no.

I would suggest to the boss he has plenty of room to make sacrifices before we do. He spends more in a month on dining out than some people make in a month. That's just one example of many I can list.

fuck. no.

I don't think it shows a very strong management structure in the company when they are giving options to their employees about fundamental company issues. It shouldn't be up to the employees. Amazingly, there is more stress and angst when the decision is made by the emotional than by those looking at the bottom line.

Would I? I would do what is best for the company in the long run. A flat 5% of each person's income isn't going to save the company that much - if they let someone go they then don't have to pay insurance, workman's comp, etc... so it would be better for the company to let someone go.

What is better for the company is better for ALL the employees.

Business decisions shouldn't be personal - it should be based on job performance.

Yeah it reallys sucks....we're not allowed OT either. And there's a wage and hiring freeze. We're literally dont have enough people to get the news on the air everyday. Its really tough. We're all busting our asses to get the show on the air, doing more work then ever for less work.

But on the plus side...I still have a job.

The news says everyone at HP took a 5-20% cut

Some people might feel that if they can't send their little Johnny to Baseball camp in the summer and little Suzy to Ballet camp, or get their child braces for their teeth, they would want to know where their 5% is going that is making their family sacrifise.


I absolutely agree!


Some companies have gone to the 'Comp Time' rule to avoid paying the OT.

Yep....they send us home early or we have to come in late on Friday.

In this economy, Id take a paycut before Id risk losing my job, but we dont get those kind of options at my company. We havent gotten raises in years, we arent allowed overtime, and when we do work 6-7 days a week we then get bitched at for taking that comp time a few hours here and there...

We had a local guy do something similar, instead of laying off or firing to avoid paying umeployment, he just gave his entire salaried staff a 20% paycut, and they were grateful to keep their jobs...

It sucks, but business is business.

Saving those for management!

I suppose I could post whore for 5% less. But I would demand reciprocity from the coworkers...:diitb:

Your situation would irritate me more than taking a paycut.

I already told my manager I would rather have a pay cut than see anyone laid off. :idk:

:lol: It gets better! We are constantly harassed about not spending company funds on necssary projects, and told we are lucky to have jobs and we wont be hiring and will be laying off people, and then everyone and their brother in the other office gets a NEW assistant and iphones...

Thankfully, I dont have to deal for much longer, just a few more months...then I can gracefully exit, while letting them know EXACTLY what I think of them...AND what they can do with themselves and the way they treat people...havent decided on my strategy yet...:whistle:

There was one guy who offered to decline his raise so others wouldn't be let go but was told that it wasn't his choice and he could take the raise or lose his job.

That seems insanely frustrating. Mind me asking what line of work you are in?

A few things...yes I would take the cut and then start my job search. I would also make sure that it is across the board including management and that they would not be getting any bonuses or car allowance, blah blah.

No increase for me this year...not sure when I will see an increase again, there might be layoffs here in the near future. Supposedly my group is safe for now, maybe Obama will save us all. :whistle:

Fucking this times a million. If a company is giving you the option, something's wrong at the top. Chances are those options will become actuality. They'll take the 5% and then end up firing people anyway when nothing changes, or vice versa. It's piss poor managing having the employees make any of those decisions, and creates friction among the ranks when their opinions on what should happen aren't universal.

Yep. :iagree:

However, I'd still take the pay cut.....and start looking for another job.....

It's better to have a job and look for one than to be fired/laid off and not have income until you find something else...

I understand your angst, especially given the circumstances.

However:

Often, in small companies, the boss will take a hit long before the employees. I have seen small business owners not take a paycheck for months to keep a company afloat while the employees had no idea.

I agree Sean, we didn't give out raises to the guys outside this year, some received an increase to minimum wage when it went up to $7.21 an hour and only one received a decrease, but he was only at $7.24 an hour to begin with.

The owner of the company explained to him that he would be more than happy to give everyone a raise and lay off 5 people, or everyone could get the same pay and everyone could keep their jobs.

Meanwhile, I do payroll, I know who makes what and I know what my boss has done to ensure equality. He has cut his pay, and things that the company should pay for, he has started to pay for it out of his pocket by not turning in receipts to me.

For small businesses, it should always start at the top. I know that when my boss retires, and the doors close here, he'll be on a boat fishing in the Keys every day and occasionally might remember that girl who used to work in his office doing the accounting while I'm out pounding the pavement looking for the next accounting office to hire me.

wouldn't take the paycut, but would start looking for a new place of employment. Co is probably going on a steady decline if they start asking for volunteer cuts.

You know damn well that the people who don't take the pay cut are the first on the block for lay offs.

Not over 5%. Do you realize that it would cost the company a lot more than 5% of your salary to hire someone back in at a 5% lower salary. Advertising cost money, interviews cost money, training costs money. If a company is going to fire your ass over 5% they have far bigger problems than you know about and you better have your ass out job hunting anyway.

Well...everyone at my company took 4%...anyone making over 6 figures took a 20% cut. I guarantee if and when we have to lay more people off it will be the ones who declined the 4%.

I had no choice. The reporters and produces, who are under contract, had a 'choice'.

95% of my old salary is better than 0%.

If I thought that management was being sincere, I'd take a 5% cut. Don't tell my union brothers that though, or the police will find me strung up from a lamp post in High Park.

If I could take a 3% cut and have just the last guy in the door turfed though, it wouldn't bother me one bit. Waste of fucking skin.

:idk:

Whats best for companies wqould be to pay nothing and overwork everyone. I work for a huge, multibillion dollar zinc mining/smelting company. They dont give a fuck about me, which is why we have a union.

I would say yes if management also took the 5% and eliminated their golden parachutes and year end bonuses.

That's it. You still have a job.

If it means the difference between having a job, and not having a job, in this day and time, I'll take a decrease. I've been laid off before. Not having enough money for essentials is scary.

azoom's right. The management should not ASK the employees if they'll accept a decrease. The decision should be made by management. That's management's job.

I'd take it until I found another job.

Like a few others... take it, and take my things as soon as i found something else.
5% should be a liveable amount to lose.
In Rae's case though... 20% wow, that's a big chunk of change!

That was going to be my answer, but more along the lines of 10% off management's pay.....

I was once told that I needed to take 1 extra day off a week, no choice. I wasn't happy about that and was really pissed once I figured out that all I had to do was bill out 2 hours a day to pay for my days pay + bennies. it also didn't help that I wasn't the low man on the pole in billed hours or time at the shop. I did it till I found another job. I was at a 70% effenciey rate while the guy they kept that wasn't there as long was around 30%

The typical..."it's not what you know, it's who you know...or who you blow..."

and that was the case there. the newer guy was the GM's buddy from the shop he came from.

Nepotism FTL.


It unfortunately runs rampant in the Defense/Contracting area.....

I agree, that's why I would start looking right away.

no

It'd be a toughy with those circumstances. I guess I'd say there has to be atleast 2 more sorry ass bastards and to let them go.

In my situation if they came to us and said "You can take a 5% paycut across the board" or we'll let 3 people go. My first question would be "Are you letting the worthless lazy bastards go or are you going by seniority. If by seniority then yes I'd take the paycut cause I'm at the bottom. Unfortunately my company rewards laziness.