View Full Version : Lay-offs: Restructuring/cost savings at my job...
Question:
So my boss has had a series of meeting with the staff at my workplace. I work for a university in a research department.
These meetings have been about restructuring. We all know what the usually means... Lay-offs! :( Couple this with the top dogs sending us emails about impending cost-saving strategies that they are brainstorming (without any real input from us) and I think jobs could be cut. I am low on the totem pole and the areas I research are also low-priority. I have only been at the job 11 months.
But the timeline for the restructuring to go into effect is some time between September 2015 and January 2016. We'll have to apply and interview for our own jobs.
Any suggestions on how to prepare? I obviously have been building up my emergency fund and I am fairly frugal (though I could improve on this in so many ways, I would guess).
If anyone has been through something similar, any insights would be great. Thanks!
-Jake
ApatheticNoMore
7-9-15, 11:31am
The usual I suppose, update the resume, start sending it out now is not a bad idea unless you are determined to ride that train to the end of the line. If all goes well you could have a new job before this one goes away! Though of course that is far from guaranteed. If we truly are headed for recession (I wouldn't know but there are bad signs) getting a job now would be better. Have interview clothes and the resume ready to go. There's a lot of unusual features of interviews these days, people want to Skype interviews etc. - but that may be so field specific as to not even be relevant for you. Phone availability at least is a must, and usually computer access as well, a cell a plus (you could scrape by with just landline access, it's probably not ideal).
If it's a true layoff you'll probably qualify for unemployment. Don't count on it as they can stonewall and even then it may take awhile to kick in, but in a layoff the law should be on your side. So you could find what unemployment payments will be or not, either way it is what it is, but it would help in finding out what money you have to work with in a period of unemployment. If there's a severance there's that (I'd never worked anywhere with severance pay but it exists somewhere). You could find out what healthcare options are while unemployed, CORBA and ACA (I know many people go without health insurance while unemployed, and it's technically illegal unless you pay the penalty with the ACA, but it's none of my business). CORBA though they'll kick you out if you ever pay a bill late, so if you decide on that option be ultra responsible.
Have a budget or at the very least an estimate of costs. That with understanding unemployment, how much it will pay, how long it will last etc. will tell how long you can last without a job (it might be comforting). Unemployment itself is often not enough to live on but supplemented with savings it might last awhile. Get the things you need to get done now, if you have a car get it serviced now while you might still easily afford the repair (wait does easily afford and car repairs really belong in the same sentence?). Go to the dentist. See a doctor. Get glasses if you need them or on a vision plan (of course if you never wear glasses or existing glasses are perfectly fine never mind - I'm not saying collect pairs of glasses for the heck of it :)). Pay off the yearly car insurance bill if you are paying installments and can afford to. If you rent and want to move do it now, you may not have great luck getting a place with no income beyond unemployment to show. If you have a desk cleaning it out a bit now may not be a bad idea (but that can be too obvious - yea I know your going to lay me off so my desk is completely bare now! bring it on!). Emotionally prepare for unemployment? Phew, I don't know, practicing meditation or yoga or something I suppose helps. A network of people you know in the field that could provide job leads if you have one is good (maybe they can provide a job lead right now then!). Might also be able to tell you how the field is doing economically, if certain areas are worth pursuing, or whatever. Make your home comfortable, your going to be spending a lot of time there. They say looking for a work is full time work, but realistically I've seldom ever found there to be enough job leads at any given time to spend 8 hours a day on them even when unemployed. It's not very realistic IMO. Look for work but also enjoy your time off if unemployed (one may not want to be unemployed, but if it happens, it is one of the few breaks people have from work).
Ultralight
7-9-15, 11:51am
ApatheticNoMore:
Some good advice there. :) Thanks.
I think that your ideas about enjoying a break and being comforted by knowing how long I could squeak by on savings and/or unemployment checks are especially helpful. Part of the negative impact people feel when they lose their job is emotional and I would guess that slows down their progress in bouncing back into a new gig.
Here are some particulars about my situation that are worth noting. I work for a public university that, while they do lay people off, also has a strange practice of reassigning people to different jobs to avoid laying them off. These reassignments are often to jobs with significantly lower pay. So I could escape a lay-off this way. And who knows, maybe they won't lay me off or reassign me at all.
If I get laid off I will probably get on ObamaCare.
I can really cut corners financially if I had to. As an experiment I lived on $1.50 of groceries a day for a week. I did this twice, once alone and once with a couple friends (we each had our own $1.50 a day). While I was a bit listless and hungry sometimes it actually wasn't that bad. I did not notice my happiness levels go down and I think with an additional 50 cents a day I'd not feel hungry or listless. haha
Any more unconventional ideas and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
freshstart
7-9-15, 12:48pm
had I known I would be leaving due to illness, during the months prior to my last day, I would've compared COBRA plans with the NYS marketplans much earlier and taken advantage of people whose job it is to help you find a comparable plan. COBRA is very expensive, I took it because it was a crisis and I needed by same docs, same hospitalization coverage and same drug plan. I couldn't go without these things at that time. And I would use your health plan and FSA now (you do get to keep your FSA, I believe, I was down to a HRA account and I got to keep that. Get everything you can think of, a physical, gyn, dentist, opthmalogist and any specialists you see.
If it does happen, and I hope it doesn't, remember to get a copy of your summary of plan benefits, you will need this to compare COBRA to all other plans. Sometimes this is called a summary plan document.
are you in a field that has head hunters, maybe make it known you are available?
good luck!
and I would add, Update your online presence. If you're on LinkedIn or other sites that a potential employer would be looking at then you want to make sure everything is professional and current. Even a nice looking photo can make a difference.
I'm sure you've heard this stuff before, so please take it as "free advice" and not lecturing .. :)
I have almost no online presence. No Facebook or twitter or LinkedIn or any of that. Maybe I should do the LinkedIn thing...
I have almost no online presence. No Facebook or twitter or LinkedIn or any of that. Maybe I should do the LinkedIn thing...
Well at least no Facebook is better than an embarrassing FB. People put some crazy stuff on FB, and employers definitely check. You might as well do LinkedIn. I'm not sure how many people it helps but it can't hurt. It always suggests jobs for me that don't make any sense, and it has an annoying amount of pop-ups and reminder type things. But I haven't been really using it actively either.
For other job stuff, is there any skill upgrading that your employer would pay for or you could do on the side? Try to make yourself more valuable. What things do other people know that you don't? In my last job if you had average Excel and Outlook skills and knew how to Google how to do things, you were ahead of 90% of the people.
Good suggestions. Is it bad for me to admit that, while I don't want to get laid off, there is a big part of me that feels kinda "meh" about it?
My job is rather pointless and uninspiring in every way.
Good suggestions. Is it bad for me to admit that, while I don't want to get laid off, there is a big part of me that feels kinda "meh" about it?
My job is rather pointless and uninspiring in every way.
No, you can look at this as the push to find something that is a better fit.
To have advance notice while still getting a check is great. Much easier to look for something great instead of feeling pressured to just find a new paycheck as quickly as you can.
I feel like simple living and minimalism give me confidence sometimes that I don't have to worry as much as the average person about a lay-off. My overhead is low. I can live extremely cheaply.
Am I lulling myself into a false sense of security?
Of course, other times I think: "I need to have a job! I have mouths to feed -- mine and Harlan's!!" hahaha
Is Harlan a pup?
Plus you have the student loan to pay off and I know you want to stay in something that helps you qualify for that early payoff.
Harlan is my dog, yes. haha
I know about the student loan. It is what I call "flexible" debt. This means that I can simply request not to pay the loans if I lose my job. No penalties. If I get laid off and then a year later go back to a government job I can get right back in the loan forgiveness program.
But I know; I know. I need to take this more seriously. But it is hard when I go to work and and feel like a robot in a coma all day. haha
Williamsmith
7-9-15, 9:21pm
I'm going to tell you that I took some time reflecting on my life after I retired from my first career. And what I learned was that often the events that appeared to be a crisis turned out to be not that big a deal and sometimes beneficial to me. Picture it as being able to see only a portion of the battlefield due to your location. What you think today is threatening turns out was really in control the whole time. It helps if you can believe in yourself no matter what. Most things work out just fine...including new job searches.
Williamsmith:
Now that is some serious food for thought. Hmmmm... very intriguing ideas there.
freshstart
7-10-15, 9:52am
Good suggestions. Is it bad for me to admit that, while I don't want to get laid off, there is a big part of me that feels kinda "meh" about it?
My job is rather pointless and uninspiring in every way.
not to be nosey, but are you near retirement age? That would make a difference which way I would go
catherine
7-10-15, 10:36am
I'm going to tell you that I took some time reflecting on my life after I retired from my first career. And what I learned was that often the events that appeared to be a crisis turned out to be not that big a deal and sometimes beneficial to me. Picture it as being able to see only a portion of the battlefield due to your location. What you think today is threatening turns out was really in control the whole time. It helps if you can believe in yourself no matter what. Most things work out just fine...including new job searches.
I completely agree. Great points.
Ultralight
7-10-15, 11:15am
freshstart:
Be as nosy as you want. haha. I might not give you the answer you want but I'd never be offended by something you might ask.
But no, I am not retirement age. I am 36 -- which I wish was retirement age! ;)
Living in the world as we know it, one of my regrets is not starting my university job earlier in life. I could have retired 10 years earlier with even better benefits. Unless you just don't like what you do at all or visualize a future, I would start putting out feelers for a lateral move within the university. I think when you are young you have no concept of how how much longer you are older than younger - make sense? But at the same time, it is a good time to try novel things - when you don't have a lot of other things to support besides yourself - pets, children, mortgage, etc.
As mentioned, things work out as they will and often regardless of our plans. I'm a firm believer though in the old saying "when one door closes, another one opens".
Ultralight
7-10-15, 11:49am
pinktoe:
Good point there. The lateral move is what I will most likely actively pursue starting next month. But I may have to consider a variety of other choices depending on how this cookie crumbles.
I feel like simple living and minimalism give me confidence sometimes that I don't have to worry as much as the average person about a lay-off. My overhead is low. I can live extremely cheaply.
Am I lulling myself into a false sense of security?
I think you are, but maybe not for the reason you think.
For one thing, even though you might be able to coast for quite a while on severance or savings, what the world of work sees is that you've been unemployed. Most people quickly find themselves in a world of financial hurt if they lose their job so they have an incentive to accept even an inferior job just to keep the money coming in and their creditors at bay. The longer you are unemployed, the harder it becomes to be employed again, because the suspicion is that there's something wrong with you or you'd have been hired by someone else already. Claiming to be choosy about your next opportunity works for a while, but also will imply something is wrong after many months/years.
In addition, your financial infrastructure works against you if it becomes public. If a job-offering employer knows you don't need a lot of money, you may find yourself low-balled in salary. And, not to be terribly cynical about it, you generally become a less-attractive employee to most organizations because you cannot be controlled by money. Not every organization is a Tesla or a Bellevue Hospital, which can attract people to their approach to changing the world regardless of the work environment. In most organizations, your compensation is the primary way they show you how important you and the job are to them. Eliminate pay as a tool that motivates you and what power do they have to incentivize you?
Ultralight
7-10-15, 1:18pm
SteveinMN:
You bring up some really important "meta" level issues. Thanks for being candid. I'll really have to think these over.
I'll say this too: Money is not much of a motivator to me (as you might tell). I know I should probably want to make more money for a lot of justifiable reasons. But it takes discipline for me to care about salary beyond what I need to live on, plus a couple luxuries and savings for retirement/emergency. So I usually have to pretend to care when I am going after a job or, in the case of my previous job, negotiating and advocating for raises.
I'd rather have more weeks of vacation time than salary -- but that is heretical in this culture of "total work."
Again, you hit the nail on the head; I did not see your remarks as cynical at all, just realistic.
freshstart
7-10-15, 1:45pm
freshstart:
Be as nosy as you want. haha. I might not give you the answer you want but I'd never be offended by something you might ask.
But no, I am not retirement age. I am 36 -- which I wish was retirement age! ;)
Well, I think at 36 you've got a solid work history behind you and you will have one again in front of you, it's fine to feel meh about being laid off from a job you don't enjoy. Use that time of course for a job search, but use some of it doing things you enjoy that are hard to do when working full time. Wouldn't it be great if you get a severance package and then unemployment?
And I would use your health plan and FSA now (you do get to keep your FSA, I believe, I was down to a HRA account and I got to keep that. Get everything you can think of, a physical, gyn, dentist, opthmalogist and any specialists you see.
Actually, flex spend accounts normally stay with the employer. HSA's on the other hand, belong to you and yo take it with you when you leave, just like a 401(k). However, you can use your entire year's contribution to the FSA at the beginning of the year and then quit, (or get laid off) and the employer cannot come after you for the money.
Ultralight
7-10-15, 3:06pm
I don't get an FSA or an HRA. Thanks for the info for future reference though!
freshstart
7-10-15, 4:44pm
what SteveMN is saying makes total sense. I still think you can get away with a bit of free time, but not so much that it winds up looking like a strange gap in employment
this is one of my own fears, unexpected illness likely to last years, I am petrified that I will one day be well enough to work, but who would take a chance on a nurse who has been out of the loop for so long? How do you explain a multi-year employment gap so that a boss is willing to take a chance on you? I wouldn't hire me at that point, lol
you have a lot on your plate, good luck with it all!
ApatheticNoMore
7-10-15, 5:10pm
For one thing, even though you might be able to coast for quite a while on severance or savings, what the world of work sees is that you've been unemployed. Most people quickly find themselves in a world of financial hurt if they lose their job so they have an incentive to accept even an inferior job just to keep the money coming in and their creditors at bay.
Yea that's me, ok I had no financial need to find work quickly, but I accepted an inferior job (gotta love that downward mobility! oh happy happy joy joy) because well things like knowing the unemployment rate here was 12% did focus the mind (it's not like I don't know that downward mobility can get a lot worse than taking an inferior job). I avoided financial news for the most part when unemployed, I didn't really need to know all the nitty gritty details of how bad it got for years here after the recession, but I knew the unemployment rate, hard to live in a total bubble.
The longer you are unemployed, the harder it becomes to be employed again, because the suspicion is that there's something wrong with you or you'd have been hired by someone else already. Claiming to be choosy about your next opportunity works for a while, but also will imply something is wrong after many months/years.
I feared that yea.
In addition, your financial infrastructure works against you if it becomes public. If a job-offering employer knows you don't need a lot of money, you may find yourself low-balled in salary. And, not to be terribly cynical about it, you generally become a less-attractive employee to most organizations because you cannot be controlled by money.
yea well but that's going to be the case for anyone who just has to support themselves compared to a gaggle of kids. Money simply isn't going to be as much of a worry. Also if you rent rather than have a mortgage due (but how would they know? That apartment number in the address is a giveaway :). I don't give my address on my resume, but after one is hired the employer has it).
Eliminate pay as a tool that motivates you and what power do they have to incentivize you?
interesting projects? Being promoted to doing more interesting things? That would be motivation enough for awhile. Ok that's never gonna happen. Praise and recognition? That would work a little bit but it's limited. They could offer me reduced hours that would motivate me like nothing else. Hmm it probably explains the reality of why one is only minimally motivated. It's a lie that money is the main thing people are motivated by (but they do need it). So no wonder motivations are often fairly low trying to use it as the only incentive.
Fresh start -
(Edit - Maybe you're not currently on disability? I may have misunderstood your post. But I'm gonna let this post here cause I think it's good info. Ha.)
I'd encourage to keep your nursing license active. Utilization nurses can often for insurance companies, sometimes from home.
And insurance companies are starting to hire nurses to work from home in what looks like health coaching for their clients. I don't know what it's called but my company is encouraging anyone with a chronic illness or a risk factor to make use of this service. I just completed a 9 month thing were I talked to a nurse for 20 minutes every 6-8 weeks about managing asthma and stress. In the end I got a $100 gift card for participating. She likes her work and works from home. She is doing this after having worked for many years I. Hospital settings.
Also nurses find work consulting with lawyers.
It's worth keeping your license active.
Just some emcouragemt from one nurse to another. We are still very employable even if we can't do the hard physical work anymore, so if you need to work again someday, I want you to remember that you have a lot to offer.
freshstart
7-11-15, 3:27am
Fresh start -
(Edit - Maybe you're not currently on disability? I may have misunderstood your post. But I'm gonna let this post here cause I think it's good info. Ha.)
I'd encourage to keep your nursing license active.
Just some emcouragemt from one nurse to another. We are still very employable even if we can't do the hard physical work anymore, so if you need to work again someday, I want you to remember that you have a lot to offer.
Thank you, Tammy. I will always keep my license current. I'm awaiting long term disability and SSDI, cannot work. Really weird diagnoses (POTs syndrome and an AV block of tangled up blood vessels in the area of the brain that controls all the cognitive stuff) and so far treatment has done nothing. And it is no exaggeration that I cannot work, I have had no BP and pulse around the 200s for at least 6 months, so I faceplant at least once a day, syncope, the spins, can't breath deeply and blue lips, memory and confusion issues that are mortifying. They attributed all this to POTs, the meds do bring my HR down to 120s, but I still have no audible BP, and worsening with all the other stuff. Then they found a problem on a brain MRI, the area that controls cognitive function. Glad they found it, the confusion, memory issues, etc that come and go through out the day are driving me crazy. I will ask my family 4x/day what day is it? I will tell the same info 3x to the same person, no clue that I've done so. I failed the mental status exams big time, very embarrassing. And so frustrating because if I'd been having a better day, I might have done better. But IRL, all this and more just keeps on getting worse. It's like my brain wipes clean every day, horrible memory. I could not remember my BFFs husband's name or her children's names. Writing this stuff kind of helps, makes me try to remember how I got to this point because that is starting to get hazy.
so work will not be an option until I can stand without falling and I can remember how to be a nurse without confusion, concentration, memory and comprehension issues. There is no way I should be in charge of anyone else's health because I could easily screw it up no matter how hard I try.
I've been thinking about what maybe I can do in the future (I want only hospice, but HR made them hold my position for months and months beyond FMLA, management was not happy so I can be pretty sure they won't hire me, I have to move past that). Thanks for the suggestions because maybe one day the room will stop spinning, I will have memory, I will walk like a normal person. I LOVED my job. I would do anything to get it and a normal life back.
what kind of nursing do you do? do you love it? And again, thanks, Tammy.
I had a friend with POTS. It changes everything. She eventually obtained some recovery but not complete enough to return to work.
I started my nursing career in 97. A few years of primary care, med-surg, and telemetry. Since 2000 I've been in psychiatric nursing which is my favorite. I've worked in a voluntary inpatient unit, a 600 bed regional jail, a rural community clinic, and a court ordered impatient setting. Psychiatry is the shortest in resources of all types of healthcare and as one can see from my list of work places, it's often the poorest people who land in the places I work. After resources and family are burned out, the mental illness continues and the patients find themselves in jail, homeless, and in forced hospitalizations.
I see a lot of sad situations but I also see our staff helping people with basic needs all the time. I love my work but I also need a lot of time wary from my work to avoid my own burnout. 6 months ago I was able to move in a supervisor position, giving me 2-3 twelve hour shifts a week. It's perfect as I have enough time off to now that I'm recovering from the brink of burnout. I had worked 5 ten hour days a week for 5 years prior to this change. It was intense and exhausting in spite of the things I lived about it.
freshstart
7-11-15, 12:29pm
wow, that's an area that would be very difficult for most people. I can see how you would easily burnout because it's not like money is being thrown at this problem and it's getting better. I would guess it's getting worse. The issue of a large portion of the mentally ill being homeless, that some drug abusers are actually dual diagnosis and trying to self medicate so they do criminal acts to get money for drugs, end up in prison when they really need mental health care and addiction recovery, d/c'ing freq flyers because you can't keep them but know they will be back in a month because they went off meds when there is nobody supervising, on and on. God bless you, I would be burned out before I even started!
ToomuchStuff
7-11-15, 1:49pm
I guess a question that could be sensitive is CAN you keep your license current?
The reason I say that, is the medical boards, may have some issues with your condition and having a license to practice medicine, when you have a cognitive impairment.
To give a non medical example.....
Someone I grew up with was (the term at the time was) retarded (no proper name was given back then), and they were able to get a job as an armed security guard. The state law changed after they shot out a persons rear window for driving off with a bottle of liquor. (not cognitive enough for attempted murder charge but left the license issuer liable)
freshstart
7-11-15, 9:26pm
that makes sense and if I massively improve and can return to nursing, I would check with the board to see if they need more info. For now, I'll keep it so it doesn't lapse but I have ZERO intention of ever practicing again unless my team of doctors all agree I'm safe. I would never practice in any setting, even under the table private duty nursing, until I am 100% improved and have written medical clearance. I know, for instance, even though I still have my license, I would quickly lose it if I tried to practice the way I am now.
It's like driving, all in agreement NO driving, so even though they have not taken my license, I would never ever drive like this or ever again until my team is in agreement I am ready.
I know I cannot remotely do either of these two things, both could seriously hurt someone. And I trust my doctors to tell me when/if I can nurse and drive ever again. Whatever their decision is, I will accept it even if it's not what I want to hear. I will not put anyone in harm's way just because I'm selfish and want those privileges back
Yes, definitely do LinkedIn. I've had a number of employers contact me, asking me to apply for positions.
yea well but that's going to be the case for anyone who just has to support themselves compared to a gaggle of kids. Money simply isn't going to be as much of a worry. Also if you rent rather than have a mortgage due (but how would they know? That apartment number in the address is a giveaway :). I don't give my address on my resume, but after one is hired the employer has it).
Perhaps it's a weirdness of the local real estate market, but even buying the median house around here with 20% down on a 30-year mortgage yields a monthly housing payment that's about what the median apartment costs. Yes, there are maintenance expenses, but they're highly variable.
But what it comes down to in this conversation is that the amount of money an employee would need to pay for a mortgage or an apartment lease is about the same, so why should someone living in an apartment find it at all appropriate to make or be offered less money? I've never been a fan of paying people by the number of mouths they feed, either. I've been lucky enough to live in more meritocratic work environments, I guess.
Eliminate pay as a tool that motivates you and what power do they have to incentivize you?
interesting projects? Being promoted to doing more interesting things? That would be motivation enough for awhile. Ok that's never gonna happen. Praise and recognition? That would work a little bit but it's limited. They could offer me reduced hours that would motivate me like nothing else. Hmm it probably explains the reality of why one is only minimally motivated. It's a lie that money is the main thing people are motivated by (but they do need it). So no wonder motivations are often fairly low trying to use it as the only incentive.
I think there have been enough studies that show people are motivated by many things, and not so much money. Unfortunately, it's easier for companies to pay in more-or-less uniform compensation and not worry that Steve would rather have additional time off and Dora would prefer flex-hours and Dana is fine so long as she can get her teeth into a big meaty project. Much easier on payroll...
Partial forgiveness of student loan is because of your government job? If lateral move with lower pay is offered, remember to factor that in. For example, if you get $5,000/year forgiven, that's like getting paid $7,000/year more (because you'd have to pay income tax on the earnings to get the $5,000 net). And does forbearance of the loan mean your interest then gets added back into the principal? That's an awful situation, and one I know something about. I had a massive student loan debt and, once it was paid off, it lifted a huge psychological burden from me. Putting in your time in a job that's only "meh" (while you look for something better) may be worth it to pay that debt down.
mschrisgo2
7-15-15, 3:25am
Ok, this may sound a little bit weird and anti-SL, but I would suggest that you get health insurance or a wellness plan for your dog, if you don't have it already. It can be really distressing not to have the funds to pay the vet when you are unemployed. I never had it until I was out of work for a number of months, now I will never drop it. I find great comfort in knowing I can provide for my pup.
Ultralight
7-15-15, 7:20am
Partial forgiveness of student loan is because of your government job? If lateral move with lower pay is offered, remember to factor that in. For example, if you get $5,000/year forgiven, that's like getting paid $7,000/year more (because you'd have to pay income tax on the earnings to get the $5,000 net). And does forbearance of the loan mean your interest then gets added back into the principal? That's an awful situation, and one I know something about. I had a massive student loan debt and, once it was paid off, it lifted a huge psychological burden from me. Putting in your time in a job that's only "meh" (while you look for something better) may be worth it to pay that debt down.
Well, the public service loan forgiveness plan doesn't exactly work that way. You have to spend at least ten years working for the government (or a 501c3). If you make 120 payments during that time, then the rest gets forgiven. The ten years do not have to be consecutive, so you could get laid off or whatever and then come back to public service and start your ten years/120 payments where you left off.
Ultralight
7-17-15, 4:02pm
I just overheard one of the supervisors talking about lay-offs; she was saying: "If you've been here for ten years or more you're most likely okay."
Then I heard another coworker say: "I started in 2007..."
freshstart
7-17-15, 5:42pm
way to instill fear amongst your employees! Dare I ask, how long have you been there?
Ultralight
7-17-15, 5:45pm
way to instill fear amongst your employees! Dare I ask, how long have you been there?
She was just sort saying it quietly to someone. I overheard it. It was being safe a few cubicles over. I have been there one year.
There was a lot of whispering about the lay offs and cost savings today, people from other departments coming in and relaying info they heard too.
freshstart
7-17-15, 6:08pm
She was just sort saying it quietly to someone. I overheard it. It was being safe a few cubicles over. I have been there one year.
There was a lot of whispering about the lay offs and cost savings today, people from other departments coming in and relaying info they heard too.
maybe this could work to your advantage, you're probably cheaper than your peers
Ultralight
7-23-15, 10:14am
I got an email yesterday stating that we are having an all-staff meeting in mid-August. I cannot help but think this is related to the restructuring and cost-saving strategies. :/
rodeosweetheart
7-23-15, 11:30am
Fingers crossed for a good meeting!
Ultralight
7-23-15, 11:42am
Thanks!
Are you doing anything yet about looking for another position or will you wait, take a little time off, and then start looking? I would not like the anxiety of not knowing right now when all the rumors are flying and they say "meeting in 3 weeks".
Ultralight
7-23-15, 12:29pm
Float on: Thanks for asking. :)
My plan is to start applying for other jobs within the university on Aug. 1st.
iris lilies
7-23-15, 1:46pm
maybe this could work to your advantage, you're probably cheaper than your peers
i know! I used to tell our head of Human Resources I didn't care if I got a raise because the more expensive you are, the more likely your head will roll when the layoffs come. Then, for the last few years of my employment I didn't get raises, and that was ok with me.
Ultralight
7-23-15, 1:50pm
i know! I used to tell our head of Human Resources I didn't care if I got a raise because the more expensive you are, the more likely your head will roll when the layoffs come. Then, for the last few years of my employment I didn't get raises, and that was ok with me.
I work for the gubmint. So we don't get raises anyway. haha
rodeosweetheart
7-23-15, 8:23pm
Iris, I too have avoided going for a rank advancement over the last 3 years, even though I have qualified, and really well qualified last year when I presented at a national trade conference.
Do you think it helped--I just feel like flying under the radar, as I am already a lot more expensive than my replacement would be, who could do the same job.
So do you really think that strategy works?
Ultralight
7-23-15, 8:39pm
Iris, I too have avoided going for a rank advancement over the last 3 years, even though I have qualified, and really well qualified last year when I presented at a national trade conference.
Do you think it helped--I just feel like flying under the radar, as I am already a lot more expensive than my replacement would be, who could do the same job.
So do you really think that strategy works?
Where I work they recently laid someone off. Then they turned her position into two lower-paying jobs. She had been at the university for like 17 years. She looked very sad and humiliated when she was carrying her box of desk trinkets and knick-knacks to her car.
I am not convinced that flying under the radar works that well. But I am also not convinced that being a go-getter is especially good. I think the power elite want to keep us guessing. They want us steppin' and fetchin' while they fire people on a whim or simply say: "Fire that person and we'll be hailed by those even higher up as cost-savers!" I think it is often whimsy and often malice. But I don't think we can do much about it.
freshstart
7-23-15, 9:07pm
good wishes, 3 weeks is a long time to have to wait!
flying under the radar worked for me, I fended off middle management offers that would barely give me a raise because I'd worked there so long, they were pushy, for whatever reason, they wanted me out of direct patient care into management hell. Kept my head down and kept doing my thing. The culture in my office is clinical staff come, love it and stay for 20 odd years. Well-oiled machine of expert clinicians that ran the show and ran it well. Then one of my peers took the crappy management position, within months, trumped up stuff would arise and someone be asked to "resign" or be fired. It kept happening to every old timer, when I got sick, the only oldies left were me and 2 social workers. The place was overflowing with new grads who did not yet have the experience of managing end of life care. At first I thought it was my new boss, but upper management did not stop her. I understand why this happens in corporate America and it sucks, but to do it with a non-profit organization providing care to the dying, cutting the experts and tossing in wet behind the ears staff to save a buck feels ethically wrong somehow.
I hope you land just where you are meant to be
iris lilies
7-23-15, 9:08pm
Iris, I too have avoided going for a rank advancement over the last 3 years, even though I have qualified, and really well qualified last year when I presented at a national trade conference.
Do you think it helped--I just feel like flying under the radar, as I am already a lot more expensive than my replacement would be, who could do the same job.
So do you really think that strategy works?
oh, mine is just a theory. I got a raise or no raise just depending on how the wind was blowing. Some years administrative staff at my level received "salary adjustments" and other years, not. Layoffs were sometimes thrown out as a possibility in the doom and gloom mindset of public administrators, yet no layoffs ever took place.
it also helps that all of my peers were nearly the same age, and had similar years of service at the place and I doubt I was among the highest paid of that group.
so in answer to your question, my real life experience comes up empty on this one. But still, it's something to consider.
rodeosweetheart
7-24-15, 5:45am
oh, mine is just a theory. I got a raise or no raise just depending on how the wind was blowing. Some years administrative staff at my level received "salary adjustments" and other years, not. Layoffs were sometimes thrown out as a possibility in the doom and gloom mindset of public administrators, yet no layoffs ever took place.
it also helps that all of my peers were nearly the same age, and had similar years of service at the place and I doubt I was among the highest paid of that group.
so in answer to your question, my real life experience comes up empty on this one. But still, it's something to consider.
Thanks, that's very interesting, and thanks, Freshstart!
Haven't read all the replies yet, but regarding your online presence, be aware that if your SL Forum username is known at your workplace, they can see everything you are saying in this Forum with a simple Google search.
Ultralight
10-8-15, 3:24pm
So... lay-offs are back on the table.
freshstart
10-8-15, 10:39pm
oh, no. Why all the flip-flopping? You're at a University, is that right? do you have a union?
Ultralight
10-9-15, 7:42am
oh, no. Why all the flip-flopping? You're at a University, is that right? do you have a union?
No union here... I wish we had one.
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