Don’t depend too much on your company
As some of you know, my salary will be reduced by 30% 2 weeks from now – beginning from 23rd of March….which means it’s a pretty big birthday present for me. :T
To be honest, I’ve been expecting this salary cut but I never expect it to be so much and in such a short notice.
But well, let’s face the fact. No matter how much I rant and complain here, nothing will change.
I think I'm much better than this guy
One thing do change is my mindset and my thinking thanks to 2 important lessons which I’ve learnt.
- Never sell your soul to your company.
- Don’t depend too much on your company.
I’ve realized that no matter how hard you work for your company or your employer, it’s useless when the time is bad and the company itself is trying to survive. Who cares if you are hardworking and who cares about the efforts you’ve put in? What the company cares about is the amount of money you are bringing in. If the amount is the least among the employees, then sorry to say that if there’s a need to find a victim to cut cost, you will be the one.
And when that happens, nobody will come and save you except maybe your family and few close friends. The best person that you can depend will still be yourselves. Make sure you have enough money to survive and to pay off your debts. Also, always have enough backup plans before the ‘disaster’ happens. Think about what other things you can do to earn extra income or what other things you don’t need and should sell them off.
As long as you have made sufficient backup plans, you can stop depending too much on the job and the company, and also be prepared for any major changes to your job.
As for me, I’m just glad that I didn’t sell my soul to the company. And I didn’t rely too much on the company too. I’ve made some preparations months before…but might not be sufficient now since the ‘reduction’ is too big. Still, it’s better than relying 100% on the company. 
Just hope that all of you will have a better luck than me.
p/s…. I don’t blame the company or the management team because if I’m in their shoes, I’ll most probably do the same thing as well (but maybe also help them to find jobs outside).
I would encourage everyone to start thinking of a second income stream, even if they are fully employed now. I would also be very careful about dabbling in high risk, passive income schemes during these times. Scam watchdogs are reporting an increase in activity in these times. Personally I’d invest in downmarket activities during these times, particularly in service sectors like food and maintenance. I like the fact that its low risk, cash based and has daily turnover.
Oops, malformed repetitive phrases. That’s what happens when I cut and paste stuff from various notes without reading, hehe.
Read this earlier this morning –> http://business.theage.com.au/business/staff-morale-dives-20090309-8sng.html
You bet that morale is at all time low at our place. It will probably go lower still when word gets out.
Anyway, will try my best to get jobs for you guys, if not jobs, at least provide my recommendation.
Angie Tans last blog post..Looking At The Bright Side of Life
Nowadays, everyone is feeling the heat.
@ Damien
The number of conmen is indeed on the rise…same goes with criminals (ok..i know conmen = criminals..but not many people realize that). But most people are too comfortable with their 9-5 job. It’s just like a robot being programmed to do A – Z….and one day, the robot is being released to the wild and has no idea how to do 0 – 9. It takes some time to adapt and who knows, maybe by the time he manages to adapt….er…too late already.
@ Angie
I think the rest of the folks will be more hardworking since they know about our case
@ Harogenki
Hopefully those guys who claimed our country is safe from recession few months ago, will feel the heat too !
Here’s what people in the US are doing.
I read about one of them who created a group of laid-off professionals living in and around the city where he lives. They’ve got about 15 ppl, from Financial Directors to kindergarten teachers. They meet every Saturday in a diner, usually for lunch. They pay their own of course. They exchange information (a group member might know someone in a need of a specialist) and CVs. They brainstorm for ideas. They even assemble ad-hoc teams to pitch for freelancing work/outsourcing as groups.
Most importantly, members are like-minded people who’s there to share their story and to support and motivate each other. Its real important not to feel alone and disattached in a time like this. Its also useful for business networking. Who knows, someone in the group might be a former VP of a public listed company. They won’t forget you when the good times come back.
Just a thought – perhaps you might like to organize something of this nature?
@ Damien
Most Asians, well, they’re too demotivated to do anything but to find a new job desperately.
That’s a very good idea, but only applicable to those who are still motivated to do something.
Maybe I should drop you an email sometime. hohoho
True, a majority would see no point in it so the idea is to round up the minority. The distracted majority wouldn’t add any value to the group anyway.
Oh, and check your mailbox.
@ Damien
worth a try though.
And it’s not easy to find tat minority
Thanks for the email