Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 10:59 am
Would you prefer a layoff or a demotion?
Editor & Publisher reports:
When a newspaper cuts its staff, those who remain in the depleted newsroom become valuable. But as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. slowly says farewell to 151 newsroom folks who took buyouts last month, at least two longtime journalists have been reassigned to the mailroom.
That's right. The reporters were considered so valuable they were kept on to sort and deliver their colleagues' mail. What does that journalism degree earn you if not the right to hand out press releases and ask for a signature on a package?
As layoffs decimate my industry, I feel like every conversation I have with friends in the biz is about what they'll do next — and I'll tell you, it ain't journalism. It ain't sorting mail, either, though. Which makes me wonder about what motivates people to take such a dramatic demotion. Not that there's anything wrong with postal delivery; it's an honorable, honest job. But it's not what those two reporters trained for or worked so hard to attain. And let's face it: in the corporate world, the mail room is an entry point, not a destination.
How low on the totem pole would you go to hang on to your employment?
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Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a New York-based staff writer at TIME. She writes about workplace, business and society trends for the magazine and TIME.com. Read more
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 11:38 am
That sounds like an exaggeration. It's more likely that the journalists' duties now include sorting the mail. That's more along the lines with what happens during layoffs--an ever-growing list of duties that you thought you outgrew.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 12:47 pm
It would depend on what my other responsibilities and obligations are. If I gotta feed my family and keep a warm safe roof over their heads and I am the only one doing it, I might do just about anything. At that point my "career" don't matter too much. If I got a big fat pension coming and I need just 2 more years of service, I'd work in the kitchen or park the cars. Sometimes it's not just about me. although not very often. LOL!
Welcome back from mat leave. Only just realised you were back. Will try to read the previous posts.....
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 1:33 pm
In this economy, I think it's wise to take what you can get. But you can bet that if this happened to me, I'd be on the lookout for another opening where I could be better using my skills (all while handing out the mail, of course).
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 9:46 pm
If I do work that I enjoy for a company that I like and this company experiences hard times, would I be willing to pitch in for a time to do whatever work is necessary to keep that company afloat? Of course.
However I am puzzled by the specific example cited. What is a "mail room"? Is that where the e-mail server lives? I am aware of a "Postal Service" that delivers credit-card applications, LL Bean catalogs and Netflix DVDs to my home, but I can't see how that's relevant to a modern business.
Friday, November 28, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I'd rather get laid off and a severance package. Maybe I can do something with that.
Although the great social scientist, Hugh Hefner, never got laid off, he did not get the minimal raise he asked for working for Esquire, and thus he left the magazine to start his own business, which you have probably heard of.
Friday, November 28, 2008 at 7:09 pm
What I meant was that hanging on to a job, in the vast majority of cases, is not advantageous.
Monday, December 1, 2008 at 11:02 am
I think the demotion is good strategy that enables you to look for work while still employed. Call me old fashioned but the now hyper competitive job market may be such that it makes sense to keep a lower level postion while you seek your escape hatch.
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Employers may be more sympathetic about allow you some flex time to interview since your former role has been diminished.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 11:01 am
I went through this exact scenario. I was offered an extreme demotion with a large cut in pay or a layoff. I took the demotion and within 2 months found a position with a direct competitor and make more than 20K more than I did before my demotion. Sometimes people have to swallow their pride and do what they can to keep a paycheck coming in while looking for a better opportunity.
Monday, December 15, 2008 at 11:57 am
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