Unemployment Poll (Attempt 2)

[ehidle]

Okay, here we go. These tough times have inspired some creative and not so creative measures on the part of business in order to save money. What have you experienced in terms of reductions in your work and/or compensation?

[ehidle]

God, I am an idiot this morning. I just need to step away from the computer. I'm still mad because we just got kicked in the bottoms again with more of these options.

Oh mods, Is it possible to change this to multiple choice?

Someone smack me. I deserve it for being a clumsy Internet user this morning... must... get... coffee...

[crlovel]

I put down "Reduction in pay," but that's not entirely true. We're just going a year without our annual raises. We didn't actually take a pay cut.

Yet.

[God's Country]

I voted lost job. Although I'm self employed my SO lost her job back in Feb.
My work is slowing to a trickle, my health ins. went up again.
Everything except gas (for the moment) is still going up.

If this is change I can believe in someone please stop the bus so I can get off.

[WVneighbor]

Multiple choice would have been better in my circumstance.

- Lost my job outright - got fired last week
- Reduction in hours - actually we saw an increase, from 36 (3 12hr days) to 40 (5 8hr days)
- Reduction in pay rate - total of 25% reduction in hourly pay rate. Management took a 10% reduction.
- Reduction or elimination of health coverage - premiums doubled, deductible tripled
- Elimination of retirement benefits - Pension frozen for those already vested & eliminated completely for the rest. Company match 401(k) and 401(a) stopped
- Reduction/elimination of bonus/incentive programs - We had a program which enabled a crew to gain an additional $30 a day ($90 a week on a 3 day work week). This program was eliminated. Bonus programs for management were unchanged.
- Company's CEO reduced their own pay - Our company CEO reduced his and his direct reports BASE pay by 5%. Bonuses remained unchanged.

[Bmarshall91]

WAIT! I LIED!!! I lost my 401K match from the company... and my salary went down 5% this year. Ask Mr. Fassora how much he's making right now...

[DeadHead]

Last year I was working two jobs full-time as a "consultant". One firm cut all insurance and benefits and paychecks bounced more than a few times. I picked up my family insurance with the other firm and resigned completely from the first firm. (why work if you don't get paid.) Work was VERY slow for the first part of the year and I had to sign up, but it has picked up for now, with a little OT too. Over all, my insurance rates went up substantially, and the bottom line on my paycheck has went down. I happy to still have a job, but I think work this winter will be dead.

[shefearsnothing]

You don't have a choice for "going to work for nothing".

[Dredly]

you really should have made this a multiple options available.

I haven't had my pay "cut" but they did stop pay raises a month before they were supposed to go into effect, I got a promotion and received about 1/3 of the raise I should have gotten with it

Our benefits have gotten more expensive, insurance, cell phone.. etc.

Bonuses have declined drastically as have other "incentive" type programs like team gatherings, travel... etc


In all honesty I don't think the economy is nearly as bad for most companies as they are making it out to be, other then within the financial sector and auto industry, but the worse the economy and job market sounds the more stuff that companies and strip from employees and know that nobody is going anywhere... its sort of a balancing time for companies and a chance to increase profitability.

[andrewjs18]

this is before I found my current job, but 2 of the companies I worked for let me go rather than keeping me on board and hiring me as permanent.