Where is the bailout package for employees?

Governments have rushed into saving complacent and greedy Investment Banks and Housing Giants who were trying to make merry on wide spreads on sub-prime credits. However, nowhere have we seen measures being taken to save employees being sacked from these as well as other directly or indirectly affected organisations. Targets are usually the newest employees on board who had no or the littlemost role to play in there failures. Is it not the job of the government to protect them by ways of passing extraordinary legislations which shall make these organisations pay dearly before sacking them?

Make Severance Pay Tax free!

We are already seeing lay-offs in India which is quite a new phenomenon for India Shining and there shall be many more in next months if economic downturn or the US recession continues to plague us. All these lay-offs come with severance money to employees facing lay-off, which range from 15 days to 3 months. I think severance money should not be treated the same way as notice pay which is paid to employee when fired for non-performance. Severance is paid when organisation has decided to lay-off people when it decides to take actions which were not foreseen earlier and people being laid-off may not be responsible for it. Hence, government should immediately intervene and bring in standards for deciding severance whereby employees in probation should also be entitled to an equal or higher severance pay than permanent employees as they are less likely to find jobs given their inexperience.

Also, the govt should introduce tax incentives to people facing lay-off as last thing, not only on their severance money but also maybe a tax credit/refund for tax paid in earlier years because in current scenario when everyone if firing/laying-off, majority of these people are less likely to land a job anytime soon and people would definitely like to see a portion of their money coming back which hey paid to government in their good times.

To sum-up, people being laid-off need the help of the govt as the employers are mostly going to be ruthless in paying severance and govt has made good hay in past few years from these employees and it is its time to pay back.

Industry v/s Consultants on Abating Recession Onslaught!

I read TOI (Times of India) everyday -(its not a promotion statement, its not my personality either; my wife thinks she'd not know about the best sales in town otherwise).

Recession is finding its roots into every newspaper almost everyday. And today came THE BIG announcement, and also a NOT SO BIG advise. Here they are and lets see what can we infer from it.

Here's the first - Citi to slash 52,000 jobs (link is from ET, though)

and, the second - When others fire, you hire, says Robert Miller (again from ET)

The article says it all where it says “If the past is any guide, Wall Street overshoots in terms of hiring, and then overshoots when it’s time to cut jobs,” said Walter Todd, portfolio manager at Greenwood Capital Associates, which invests $1 billion. “It’s a moving target.”

This is how I see it. On one hand by absorbing excess people than it needed, organisations like Citi create more employment while on the other hand - at receiving flak from investors and Board, CEOs sack a %age of employees to show they are doing something. I think balance lies somewhere in between. Not all organisations do this with similar vigour. This is where character or persona of organisations emerges. A good portion of employees hired would have been working with some other organisations before the same and might have been safer there. They join such organisations for career progression along with a commitment to add value to the system which is what is the usual contract. However, by taking measures such as "%age lay-off" organisations only display their inability to cope with environment and an inherent lack of preparedness for rough weathers. This erodes confidence of others too -i.e. the unretrenched people, the people looking forward to joining such places and even customers who start wondering about integrity and sustainablity of such organisations.

Add to this the logics extended by Robert Miller in the second article above, organisations stand to loose much more than they portray to be gaining. In fact, it is during these timmes that organisations need to be innovative and proactive and start looking at the Basic problem that plagues them and how they can best utilise resources. There are other costs that can be reduced like travel, Townhalls etc - people understand, and linking rewards to incentives in a more efficient manner. And those who do not understand, leave -partly accomplishing the target of having excess manpower. And if you thought these were your best people, then you need to reread the Rules of Business and Human Behaviour as it has been proved since time immemorial that those who stand by you in the hour of need prove to be your best friends.

Should you change job 'cos of your Boss?

Bosses can be frustrating at times. Harassing at others. Can be good material to win contests at times and reason to quit job too, right? More said about bad bosses is less 'cos survey on the right (cast your vote NOW - it takes only 3 seconds for site to return to normal) clearly indicates that Entropy (measure of disorderness) of the world is positive -a Big positive and all the irrational people are ruling all the good places and organisations are profitable simply because they somehow got to lay their hands on a good product.

Lets think through the question now. Do you really need to quit the job 'cos of your Boss?

Well, it depends on many factors other than your relationship with your boss, like:

1. What is your boss' s position in the organisation

a) If you are working in a Mom-n-Pop store with owner as the Boss, then choice is simple - QUIT. Obviously 'cos none gonna listen to you. But then, if this guy is so unworkable with, there is a good chance that his competitors would like to hire you. all you need to do is to make them believe your story.

b) If you are part of a BIG organisation where you as well as your Boss are not known to other employees outside your office/function, DON'T QUIT. All you need to do is to TALK. Talk to your Boss's Boss, talk to HR, talk to friends in other departments in your organisation and there's a good chance that you'd end-up with a job in the same organisation with another Boss/Department. Process may take sometime but the results would be rewarding for you.
c) For organisations of intermittent size, take your call depending upon your Boss's influence in the organisation.

2. Are you fit for the job you are in?

Sometimes, people discover they did not liked their job after their retirement! Or even if they realised, they did not change it for sheer lethargy or doubt on their capability to grab one to their liking. Make sure you don't end-up the same way. At times, one has to make compromises as the current job (e.g. FMCG sales) might be paying better than one you like (e.g. local FM channel anchor). But then you need to plan, save and someday make that switch so that you don't waste your life making money but not creating a story worth mentioning. And to top it up by living-in with a bad boss -boy, Money is BAD at times, get a life.

But if the job is right for you and you think you can really be the happiest person on earth without your Boss in it then stick to the job till you get a similar one and keep learning.

3. How Dire is your situation?

This determines whether even if above factors point at you to leave the job, should you really. Rethink whether your current financial position is really bad or is it lack of planning that keeps you in the muck all the time. Do spend time to think of your financial position. One has to make short term compromises at times. But if you think you can reorganise your mortgages and be in a position to be financially independent for some time then you can say good-bye to your job and then find one LIVING peacefully BUT remember this has to be the last resort.

Got a Kind Boss ! Please Share !

If you think you've got the best boss in the town or you had one sometime back, do share your experiences. It will certainly make others happy 'cos of the thought that someday they will have one such too.

Your Boss !!! Manage yourself !! Here's how !

There are all kinda bosses around in the town. Here's how to manage them!
1. Learn all the tips on right hand side toolbar containing links from experts on the matter !
2. Judge for yourself whats the approach you wanna use !
3. If it doesn't work for you, use this rule: "Time changes everything - even your Boss", either you'll move out or your boss will, enjoy yourself while not with boss
4. Remember - your LIFE is yours, not your boss's. He can only control your office time. Never let him control your non-office time (unless it's a party or urgent meeting or a call)
5. Contact me as last resort -post your problem here, and we'll see that you get FREEDOM.

Do add your views on expectations from this blog, or your contributions to this most HUMANE gratifying job.