Is your job affected by the credit crunch and current economic conditions?

turbobob

Just a quick straw poll for the good people on here

confused31_2

I feel my job is at risk as a direct result of current economic conditions.

Ive got mixed feelings the company i work for as cut back production due to lack of sales, which has meant them cutting the night shift which we get paid a higher premium.

On the other hand my pay rise this year was based on inflation + .5%, which i will be getting in november.

However today they have announced that they are asking for volunteers to be laid off for 3 months with 80% pay, which i am seriously considering in doing.

I just hope if i do it picks up next year.

confused

turbobob

I feel my job is at risk as a direct result of current economic conditions.

I'm in the financial services industry (life insurer) and its all looking pretty uncertain. The management is currently focused on cost cutting and I have real concerns about the slowdown in terms of new business, and also the number of people choosing to cash in existing investments - at a historic low point (must be fearing even greater losses, or maybe just not acting rationally). It all means potential job losses.

wymondham

I feel my job is at risk as a direct result of current economic conditions.

In the IT industry. Losses already at our company and more to come I suspect. No pay rise this year for the first time in history with the company, which has effected me badly with the cost of living rocketing (and I don't even have a mortgage/rent!). I see lots of clients going through redundancy so can see this thing 'growing' :eek:

misskool

You didn't include people on fixed term contracts who may be fine for the moment but have no job security per se.

Debt_Free_Chick

I feel my job is at risk as a direct result of current economic conditions.

turbobob wrote: »

I'm in the financial services industry (life insurer) and its all looking pretty uncertain. The management is currently focused on cost cutting and I have real concerns about the slowdown in terms of new business, and also the number of people choosing to cash in existing investments - at a historic low point (must be fearing even greater losses, or maybe just not acting rationally). It all means potential job losses.

I'm pretty much the same working for an insurer (not life - P&C, A&H). Our focus is on cost cutting too.

I also work in HR and let me tell you ...... no-one is immune. Even if you think you work in a "recession-proof role, in a recession-proof company in a recession-proof industry", you are not immune. Belt-tightening is the order of the day and in any business, when you look at which costs can be cut easiest, with the biggest payback, it's people. (And, just for the record, I don't believe there's any such thing as a recesssion-proof role, company or industry but many do).

In our business, premiums have to remain competitive and underwriting has to be prudent so cost cutting is the only option.

I think that cutting jobs is a false economy, though. Where redundancy/severance is paid, then the company is just "advancing" you x months pay which is little different to keeping you employed for those x months. The difference is that redundancy/reorganisation changes are below the line, but cutting your overheads delivers immediate benefits to the bottom line

All that said, there's nothing one can do about it. If jobs are to be cut, it will be a clinical, impersonal exercise (it's all about money, not people). We don't enjoy the job of firing people, but it's simply got to be done. And all the while we're firing people we have to bear in mind that we could get the "could you step into my office?" call at any time, ourselves

dubsey

I haven't voted yet because I am a bit stuck. I am currently employed in a relatively stable job (it came through the last recession and lots of the staff that are still there were also working there through the 90's), but I detest being there with every ouce of my being. It is making me me incredibly depressed, I am working longer hours to cover for others that don't turn up (sometimes finishing at 1am and back in for 6.30am - even though I live half an hours drive away) I am also now being made to do a mountain of extra work, my hours/days get changed with less than a days notice. But it's a job and it's stable.

I have been offered a new job, which I always said I would love to do, but could never afford to come out of work to train for (let alone the training cost) so it was always just a bit of a dream. The job is doing just this, they pay for all the training, normal hours (for me anyway) the pay is astronomical compared to what I'm on now and the girl I will be working for has been a friend of mine for 20 years (she was already doing this job when I first met her and now she is in charge of a lot of people within her company). But I'm not sure of how stable it will be. I have until Sunday to decide if I am going to take it So I will vote when I've decided!

IveSeenTheLight

Not sure.

I said not sure.
At the moment, the industry I am in is still very bouyant.
I recently moved positions for a 35% increase, but thats not to say in the future economic factors could have a domino effect.

I think that most people will not really know the future and will only really know if there is currently info around their jobs.

I heard a story the other week where a lot of pubs are quiet in the north of Scotland. The Dominoe effect was that the Lemonade supplier had taken 6 trucks off the road and paid off 10 guys. In turn with 6 truck off the road, presumably, this will affect people who service / maintain / supply spare parts for those trucks. People paid off will end up not spending so much affecting the retail industry etc etc etc

Regarding retail, I wonder if there will be a last splurg as people want a good christmas before a big tightening of belts

Davesnave

No, I have no fears about job security.

Useless, unproductive retired person here, though I was last self-employed, but closed the business last year. It was getting hard then and, by all accounts, it is a lot worse in that retail sector at the moment.

clobber_2

I may be affected, but only if we go it all gets much worse than it is now.

Dunno. I work for the NHS, and as such am theoretically fairly secure. In fact, I might even be more so, as global economic meltdown may distract central govt from further crazy schemes such as getting everyone to reapply for their own job on the same day via a computer system that doesn't work.

However, my wages come from taxation, and if the pot shrinks, who knows? I expect that the useless bvggers with clipboards and cheap suits will be ahead of me in the queue for the bin, but you never know.

Plus every time there's any hint of economic trouble we get a new influx of managers from "industry" who mysteriously start needing to do something "useful and worthwhile" with their skills at exactly the same time as "industry" decide they are no longer "useful or worthwhile".

neverdespairgirl

No, I have no fears about job security.

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

(And, just for the record, I don't believe there's any such thing as a recesssion-proof role, company or industry but many do).

Liquidators? Receivers?