Yes

10 of 13

by Larry Darter

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It seems interesting to me that a few months ago I would likely have never spent any time contemplating the question "Would you take a pay cut to save a coworker's job?" and certainly would not have been inclined to write on this topic. But this past April my girlfriend was laid off by the employer she had worked for the past nine years. She was employed in the residential housing industry which has been one of the hardest hit segments of the economy during the downturn and resulting recession. This experience is what motivated me to think about this question and to consider how I might answer it.

Obviously, observing what another person goes through after losing a job is not quite the same as going through that experience personally, yet when that other person is someone you love and care about, it is difficult. Even though she applies herself and gives her best efforts in looking for work the very economic realities that caused her to be unemployed make finding work a very difficult proposition indeed.

Since her layoff she has only received two interviews and has only been offered one position. That position she turned down for good reason. It was a position that she would not have enjoyed or found meaningful, would have paid significantly less than her former position and would have required an extremely long daily commute. The extra expense that the commute would have resulted in coupled with the lower pay would have netted her less income than she now receives from unemployment benefits. Yet a month later, she has really been down on herself for turning down that offer since as time goes on with no prospects in sight, she is now starting to worry that she won't be able to find work before her unemployment benefits expire.

During my lifetime it has always been my good fortune that I have never had any difficulty finding employment. It has been so easy in fact that honestly it is something I have taken for granted. Fortunately in my own case, I have a very secure job which has a tenured feature making it as secure, even during these perilous economic times, as one could ask for. Consequently, losing my job is not something I must spend time worrying about. Yet having shared the emotional ups and downs that my girlfriend has experienced, leaves no doubt just how difficult it is to be unemployed with prospects for another job in the near future quite bleak. Before all of this it never occurred to me that women, like men draw a good bit of their self-worth from what they do for a living. I know that my girlfriend was a conscientious, hard-working employee for her past employer. Not only did she always give an honest days work for a days pay, she often went above and beyond. I know she has voluntarily gone in to the office on weekends to catch up on projects without receiving any extra pay for her efforts. I also know she has on many occasions gone to work when she was ill and should have stayed home. She too knows I'm sure that she was a good employees but being laid off really shook her to the core and it is evident that her sense of self-worth has suffered as a result. Women have as a rule, a well known need for security in their lives and I know she is feeling very far from secure these days.

All of those things I have observed as I've tried to help my girlfriend get through these difficult times make me know without question how I would answer the question posed at the beginning of this article. Since I do have a number of close friends at my own job, many of whom have worked there quite a shorter period of time than I and would as a result of tenure be laid off before I would if it came to that, I would certainly be willing to accept a cut in pay if it saved a co-workers job. Certainly, in the case of my friends, who I care about personally and am acquainted with their families, but I think my answer would be the same even for colleagues I have that I don't know well or socialize with. After seeing what my girlfriend has gone through and how obviously difficult it is to find another job these days, I'd never be selfish enough to wish anyone to go through losing a job if it could be avoided. Even though I would not ever allow my girlfriend to suffer financially from her current circumstances that really isn't all there is to it. Losing her job and being unemployed even for just these past few months has taken something from her that I haven't the means to replace. I'd much rather learn to live on a little less income than see a co-worker have to go through that.

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