Workers caught in a downward spiral

Depending upon your sources, the economy has either leveled off or is still sinking. For many of us the dollar bill is dropping further in value on a daily basis.

But as George Bush the elder once said, "It's not the economy, stupid."

I used to work for a company based in southern New Jersey. Business is bad in the music industry. Napster should have been our friend, and the Feds have busted more than a few children and elderly folk for illegal downloading of music.

Just what does your company owe you? Do they know their long-range plans, or are they merely waiting for that Christmas rush which seems to get lighter every year? Should you, the employee, be privileged to this information?

Employees who are genuinely concerned with the direction of their company would be happy to see the occasional progress report on the business at meetings. Contrary to popular opinion, many workers are incredibly literate and may have constructive ideas to add to the equation.

Compromises can often be reached, and it won't always be necessary to spring a cutback on the remaining workforce without warning.

I took all I could take of the conditions at my workplace, looked over my personal situation, and decided to leave the company. Aside from leaving friendships I'd made among co-workers, I have no regrets whatsoever. Let the paint chips from a fifty-year-old building fall where they may. I had achieved maximum burnout, and unlike the 1980s, this time it wasn't related to substances or alcohol.

My peers and I got a lot of work done during this time. During our peak periods in those 1980s, Michael Jackson sold a whole lot of records, and actually resided on Planet Earth.

The population heard President Bush boasting of creating numbers of new jobs, and to an extent it has been true. But most of them are $8.00 per hour positions, or jobs which land with temporary workers.

It's kind of like home run records these days. That "new jobs created" comes with an asterisk.

$8.00 per hour for the thirty-year veteran who has become accustomed to nearly $20.00 per hour requires a significant change in lifestyle. And employees with families, especially young children, normally face a few disagreements while attempting the adjustment.

That's because there is little if anything in today's economy which hasn't increased in price. Something as simple as the newspapers where the ex-employee (not to mention newspaper ex-employees) scours the help-wanted ads have all seen cutbacks and price increases.

Caught in the middle of this exchange are the temporary workers. The need for an immediate income in lieu of benefits in today's economy makes temporary hiring the wave of the future these days for many companies.

And these temporary workers can be had for about half the pay scale of the long time worker. Through no fault of their own, the temp is a much more attractive proposition to any employer right now. By simply attempting to earn a living, the temporary worker has basically kicked the thirty-year vet to the curb.

Meanwhile, thirty years of service to the company has shockingly caused the employee to age, oh, about thirty years. At his age he is not quite as desirable to a new employer as he would have been, say, thirty years ago.

And a temp or an eighteen-year-old who is grateful to see his first paycheck would be in the mold that any company interested in the bottom line, a larger profit margin, can appreciate.

There is much that a thirty-year veteran worker needs to consider upon anticipating a layoff. If conditions are right in his life for retirement, a worker may be able to live sufficiently. But certain members of his supervision reading from a prepared speech while in the process of laying off don't give credence to company policy that employees are our number one asset.

A company does what is necessary to stay afloat when business takes a downturn. The signs of problems begin to abound. So the first thing you see is that your sick days are being eliminated. The very thought of this makes you ill. That should have been your first warning sign.

And you won't be seeing your standard cost of living raise next year. Pay raises will now be based on a series of evaluations. But you are not asked to assess your supervision.

So the employees bend because they've reached a comfort zone in their current lifestyle, and need the company's paycheck. Or since they have this particular family in their home, and they just won't leave.

This family happens to appreciate the roof over their heads, and they still need to eat.

The company stand is that you still have more benefits than their other affiliates. Which may be true. But you'd feel a lot happier if you weren't catching the other plants from ahead due to givebacks.

Layoffs and cutbacks are the new wave of our current working world. But respect between employees and management needs to be maintained in all situations. There has to be an equitable solution to monetary issues where everyone can hold on to a modicum of dignity.

Lines of communication in a workplace need to be open at all times. The occasional shift meeting which contains stock answers such as "We'll look into it" or "We'll get back to you on that later" never resolve any of the company's real problems.

There is no easy answer here. Businesses will do what they have to do to remain viable, while middle class workers will always struggle to survive. Personally, upon reassessing I realized that certain aspects of my personal life were more important than maintaining a particular income.

It's not always the economy, stupid.

Bob Holt is a freelance writer from Wenonah, New Jersey. Visit his site at www.bobholtonline.com