Would you take a 5% paycut?

[neebelung]

Originally Posted by Hondahugger

If Management approached you and said that they would be laying off 3 people if they couldn't get everyone to agree to take a 5% paycut, everyone agreed and you were the last one to approach, would you do it?

Yes.

Would it suck, would I complain about it? Yes. But we've already had both a formal "layoff," as well as a "redistribution of workload" (where the 12 people who lost their jobs were told "this isn't a layoff, we won't be calling you back, so go find other jobs") and that's just in the last few months. In the 8 years I've worked here, I've seen more layoffs and reorganizations than I can count. And each and every one of them just plain SUCKS...

Sometimes people you like lose their jobs; sometimes people you don't like lose their jobs. But the bottom line is, they're ALL people, they all have lives and families and other personal things we may or may not be aware of. Just because we don't "like" them doesn't make them any less human, or make them losing a job any less craptacular.

Originally Posted by Hondahugger

You might ask: Who are the 3 people?

Valid question, if you're giving up part of your salary, you want to know where it's going, right?

No, I wouldn't ask who they are. It's not my business, nor should management be obligated to tell you. It shouldn't factor in, IMO. That makes it personal, and it's a business decision.

For me, the decision would be based on choosing to take the paycut to either a.) save the company money in hopes it will improve their overall financial outlook, or b.) save some people their jobs in a very poor job market, where chances are, they won't find employment for a long time, or a combination of both factors. In either case, the WHO isn't important to me.

If you're trying to "do the right thing," you just do it. You don't base the decision on "Do I like that person? Do I not like that person?"