Channel Button

There are 14 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #1 by Helium's members.

Debate_icon

Jobs & Careers   >

Layoffs & Firings

Get a Widget for this title

Can children be taught the value of sportsmanship in an era of steroid abuse among professional athletes and ever more aggressive parents in the stands at little league games?

 

Title endorsed in part by:

Results so far:

Yes
62% 151 votes Total: 244 votes
No
38% 93 votes

Please Cut My Pay, Not My Coworkers' Job

Once I understood how taking a pay cut to save a coworker's job would benefit me in the long run, it was an easy decision to make. Now, I want to help others come to the same conclusion because our collective future depends on it. An overstatement, you may be saying? Not really. Just think about it.

The practical, tangible, everyday, worldly perspective

If there is any doubt that we live in a connected world where the health of one business, one industry, one country's economy and the economies of all nations, like the parts of a body are all linked, then our current global economic crisis has not taught us enough. Yes, most of the time businesses and governments do succeed and fail on their own, but wouldn't you agree that these are not normal times?

How else can we explain why businesses across the board have suddenly stopped performing well at the same time? There is no other explanation. How else can we account for staffing surpluses at hospitals now when just a few months ago they had shortages? We have just as many sick people, but fewer people who can afford medical care because they lost their jobs. The same scenario is being played out in virtually every other industry and even in many governments. Like a falling line of dominoes, workforces have gone down. Addressing this problem now is critical.

Thankfully, employers have finally begun to realize that if they and others continue to cut jobs, there will be fewer and fewer consumers who are able to purchase their products and services. And, this of course would lead to more layoffs. As a result, employers have adopted two primary strategies for saving jobs: asking their employees to take voluntary pay cuts [1] and/or to work fewer hours. Both are proving effective because for the first time this year the nation's unemployment rate went down in July. And, it is not surprising that also in July the average work week of non-farm workers dropped to an all-time low of just 33 hours. [2]

Imagine all the jobs that could be saved if everyone took a cut in pay or worked fewer hours until the economy is healthy again. Wouldn't we all benefit? Wouldn't it help end the downward spiral that we have experienced? Wouldn't it keep more homeowners in their homes and maintain property values for everybody else? Wouldn't more consumers have money to buy cars and other American products and services? Wouldn't more Americans be paying income taxes rather


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Would you take a pay cut to save a coworker's job?

Yes
  • 1 of 13

    by Ronald Peterson

    Please Cut My Pay, Not My Coworkers' Job

    Once I understood how taking a pay cut to save a coworker's job would benefit

    read more

  • 2 of 13

    by Jake Betz

    If the co-worker was valuable to the company, taking a pay cut to save his or her job would be a virtuous and mutually

    read more

No
  • 1 of 1

    by Cameron Foster

    Although sacrifice for our fellow women and men is a desirable attribute, the fallacy with this line of thinking is failure

    read more

Add your voice

Know something about Would you take a pay cut to save a coworker's job??
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

136398

Featured Partner

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an innovator in international nonprofit journalism. It goes beyond the hea...more

What is Helium? | Buy Web Content | Contact Us | Privacy | User agreement | DMCA | User Tools | Help | Community | Helium’s Official Blog | Link to Helium

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA