Lay off

<p>With the glut of bad layoff news coming daily, you wouldn’t think we’re living in a time that shows progress. However, based on the astounding insensitivity of Northwest Airlines two years ago, you may actually think employer-employee relations have evolved.</p> <p>In 2006, Northwest announced massive layoffs. This was back when the company was struggling for survival before its recent merger with Delta. Along with pink-slips, they began handing each laid-off employee a booklet called “101 Ways to Save Money.”</p> <p>Included in this prize of helpful hints were gems such as, “<em>Don&#39;t be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash</em>.” Yes, that&#39;s verbatim. Read More »

<p>It’s my last day in the office, and the first day the Starbucks barista remembered my name.&nbsp; I know it sounds like an bad Alanis Morissette song.&nbsp; I didn’t have it in me to tell the barista’s that this was my last Americano with them.&nbsp; To top it off, the cute guy who seems to start his day reading the paper and drinking coffee decided to come over and chat with me. Read More »

I'm kinda at a loss for words. Me and Dan haven't had sex for close to a month. And while I usually fret over this (and well, yes, I still am fretting and I've asked Dan about it), I'm confident that this just a hiccup along the road of marriage. Dan is huggy/kissy with me and snuggles me, but we haven't had sex. He says that it's because he's depressed over the job thing. Of course I think it's because I've put on 5 pounds and my roots are showing. But he keeps assuring me that's not it.

Well, imagine how relieved I was when I stumbled upon this article from an Australian newspaper that said men tend to withdraw from sex during economic downturns:

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<img style="width:239px;height:238px;" alt="" src="http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/oP0NKEn01GFH/photos/865688ca634b6583268f2c7a7f3bd5f3/ori_a36c5f5fa96603.jpg?ug_____DB9urZrKE" align="right" width="239" height="238">I admit it. Other than my training business being a bit slow, I thought that this so-called recession wouldn’t really affect me or the people I love. Then, two of my good friends got laid off in one week and I was forced to remove my head from the sand.&nbsp; <br><br>In troubled economic times, the logical first step for many companies is to “trim the fat”—or eliminate jobs. Regardless of your reputation or skill set, your company might decide that your position is expendable, and they will send you packing. Usually you will have a lot of people in the same boat as you are because companies typically lay off many employees at the same time. On the one hand, being laid off is easier to stomach than being fired—it’s less personal and you often can’t do anything to change the decision one way or the other.&nbsp; However, layoffs are more disconcerting because it’s harder to see the writing on the wall. Concerned? Read More »

Ok so back in June I got let go from my job. They decided to "restructure" which is a fancy way of saying, "We're firing you and hiring new people who will work for less money". So they fired all the people who've been there for 3yrs and up. Read More »

Interesting graphic from the Economist on what it costs to sack long-term employees. As shown, costs vary enormously across the world. America and New Zealand are among the most company-friendly countries, requiring no penalties or payouts to fire a full-time employee of 20 years or more. By contrast, a business in Zimbabwe must shell out well over eight years' worth of pay to sack a worker. But companies in Venezuela and Bolivia are even more tied down -- workers there cannot be fired at all! Talk about tenure and making sure you hire the right person. Read More »