Surviving Lay-Offs by Jennifer Sey, V.P. of Global Marketing for Dockers and author of Chalked Up

Surviving today's tough economic environment of lay-offs and downsizing is not easy.  There are some instances when a company just needs to lower costs to stay afloat and the employees are its biggest expense.  Not reducing costs through layng people off would inevitably result in the whole company going under and no one having a job that currently works there.  But there are some instances where jobs are being redefined, capabilities and requirements elevated in order to thrive in a more competitive environment.  What to do to protect yourself in these circumstances varies. 

 

If your company is simply suffering in the brutal economic downturn, you might offer to take a salary cut until the ship rights itself.  With the condition in place that when things start picking up you go back to your previous salary.  Acceptance of this offer is of course conditioned upon the fact that you are in fact delivering an invaluable service.  That you do whatt you say you are going to do without fail.  That you solve problems, always go to your manager with solutions rather than, "help me, help me, I don't know what to do!"  Another option is to offer to take on another 1/2 job.  Rather than suggesting a contractor, offer to pitch in and help out.  If you work more efficiently (as women are generally quite good at doing, a learned mommy behavior!), you might not even need to work extra hours.  Focus on the things that matter, that drive the business.  Let the busy work go and you can probably do a job and a half.  You'd likely surprise yourself with how much you could get done if you evaluated every task by asking: Is this going to drive the business?  If the answer is no, move on to something that will. 

 

In the second instance where capabilities are being reevaluated, your company is probably looking for employees that show incredible drive to win and an ability to flawlessly execute under any conditions.  Working hard isn't good enough.  Trying and not succeeding just won't cut it today.  It sounds harsh but it's the truth.  Think about it in terms of sports.  It doesn't matter if an athlete tries really hard during a game but fumbles the ball, falls off the beam or trips over a hurdle during the race.  All that matters is getting the most goals, getting the highest score and crossing the finish line first.  Athletes understand this.  They all try hard.  Those that never give up, that deliver under pressure and fluidly adapt to the conditions of a game to come out on top are the ones that win.  The same is required in business.

 

"Do or do not.  There is no try."  As Yoda would say.