Taking a Pay Cut
Give me your money or your life! Perhaps you'd never thought of your boss as a thief before but when the company asks or tells you that they are cutting your pay to avoid layoffs and maintain competitiveness then your boss and the company is violating a contract. You may not have a labor contract but you did have an agreement of a set amount of work for a set amount of pay. You are still working but now the company is cutting your pay. So what do you do?Chances are you really can't afford to quit but if this is just the first step before actual layoff it might be good to know if this will actually work because if it doesn't and you take the cut in pay and then get laid off you will get less in unemployment benefits. This means you need to have a good sit-down discussion with your boss and see what the strategic plan is for the company and let the boss know that you want the company to succeed and that you will look for other ways to cut costs also. If it really is just a temporary thing then my suggestion is to ride it out. Even if it hurts for a while, you still have a job!This might be a good time to reevaluate your financial position and even though you have less money there is likely a way to begin reducing debt. This might mean a lifestyle change but if you were to lose your job altogether you would have to make an even more drastic change so be thankful for what you do have! By cutting expenses and reducing debt you can do more than makes ends meet and prepare for an eventual retirement or at least be better prepared for unemployment should it happen.Perhaps you enjoy your job and if you do; good for you! If you believe you have a potential with the company and that the company will make things right once the economy turns around or restructuring is complete then this isn't so bad. At the same time I'd be checking the company's financial reports and see what they are paying the executives and see if they took a pay cut! If they didn't, start looking for a job elsewhere!Of course, this may also be the incentive to either find a part time job that may morph into a full time job or perhaps you may explore going into business for yourself on a part time basis and if things work out it may become your new job! Depending on the benefits you have from your current job and how badly you need them may also impact your decision to break away from the company or not.Life often throws us curve balls but curve balls still get hit for homeruns from time to time. Taking a pay cut may be the motivator that sends you down a new road that you had only dreamed about in the past. Or it may be what awakens you to the things that really matter and you end up restructuring your life so that you need less money and yet end up living better and less stressful.Sometime life means having to take a step back in order to move up. So take the pay cut, restructure your life while your company does its restructuring and in the end you may find that you don't need the job you agonized so much about when you were basically living paycheck to paycheck.Good Luck!Tweet
Give me your money or your life! Perhaps you'd never thought of your boss as a thief before but when the company asks or tells you that they are cutting your pay to avoid layoffs and maintain competitiveness then your boss and the company is violating a contract. You may not have a labor contract but you did have an agreement of a set amount of work for a set amount of pay. You are still working but now the company is cutting your pay. So what do you do?
Chances are you really can't afford to quit but if this is just the first step before actual layoff it might be good to know if this will actually work because if it doesn't and you take the cut in pay and then get laid off you will get less in unemployment benefits. This means you need to have a good sit-down discussion with your boss and see what the strategic plan is for the company and let the boss know that you want the company to succeed and that you will look for other ways to cut costs also. If it really is just a temporary thing then my suggestion is to ride it out. Even if it hurts for a while, you still have a job!
This might be a good time to reevaluate your financial position and even though you have less money there is likely a way to begin reducing debt. This might mean a lifestyle change but if you were to lose your job altogether you would have to make an even more drastic change so be thankful for what you do have! By cutting expenses and reducing debt you can do more than makes ends meet and prepare for an eventual retirement or at least be better prepared for unemployment should it happen.
Perhaps you enjoy your job and if you do; good for you! If you believe you have a potential with the company and that the company will make things right once the economy turns around or restructuring is complete then this isn't so bad. At the same time I'd be checking the company's financial reports and see what they are paying the executives and see if they took a pay cut! If they didn't, start looking for a job elsewhere!
Of course, this may also be the incentive to either find a part time job that may morph into a full time job or perhaps you may explore going into business for yourself on a part time basis and if things work out it may become your new job! Depending on the benefits you have from your current job and how badly you need them may also impact your decision to break away from the company or not.
Life often throws us curve balls but curve balls still get hit for homeruns from time to time. Taking a pay cut may be the motivator that sends you down a new road that you had only dreamed about in the past. Or it may be what awakens you to the things that really matter and you end up restructuring your life so that you need less money and yet end up living better and less stressful.
Sometime life means having to take a step back in order to move up. So take the pay cut, restructure your life while your company does its restructuring and in the end you may find that you don't need the job you agonized so much about when you were basically living paycheck to paycheck.
Good Luck!
