Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
High-skill employee in a remote position. Great job performance, high level of professionalism, self-motivated, very reliable - for 4-5 years. Well-compensated relative to industry wages.
Both employer and employee happy with the work relationship.
One day employee gets laid-off out of the blue. Supposedly because company lost money this year and some restructuring became necessary.
Employee suspects the very decent compensation he had been receiving is the culprit. He was not over-paid, but definitely adequately paid relative to industry wages.
Employee suggests taking a pay cut but the company says the lay-off decision has already been made. Employee accepts decision with grace and sends a "it was really great working for this company, would love to come back in the future if needed again" note. The note was sincere because he really had enjoyed working for the company. He valued it all along, management and co-workers had always been great, and he literally had this company's best interest at heart. Rare find these days.
Employee finds another job the next day - but significantly lower paid.
In a few days, management comes back and says "oops, we didn't mean that, we actually want you back; but can you work for THIS MUCH (less)?"
This "less" = just a tad more than the job the employee found the next day after being laid-off.
The new job is with a smaller company and the employee has known one of the owners for quite a while (great person). They used to be co-workers when they were both working for another company in the past. The new place feels cozier in terms of work relationships, with some possibility for advancement - but nothing sure.
What should the employee do?
Accept re-hiring offer? Go with the new offer even though it is still less pay than the re-hiring offer carries - though not by much?
Why should the employee trust this company again?
Why didn't the company accept his pay-cut offer in the first place?
Also, the employee is at a senior level (not a beginner, hence not all that young).
What would stop them from cutting your pay again if they see that you'll accept one pay cut? This is a very shady company and unless you are desperate for work, you'll do good to leave them in the rearview mirror.
But that's a personal choice which you'll have to make.
High-skill employee in a remote position. Great job performance, high level of professionalism, self-motivated, very reliable - for 4-5 years. Well-compensated relative to industry wages.
Both employer and employee happy with the work relationship.
One day employee gets laid-off out of the blue. Supposedly because company lost money this year and some restructuring became necessary.
Employee suspects the very decent compensation he had been receiving is the culprit. He was not over-paid, but definitely adequately paid relative to industry wages.
Employee suggests taking a pay cut but the company says the lay-off decision has already been made. Employee accepts decision with grace and sends a "it was really great working for this company, would love to come back in the future if needed again" note. The note was sincere because he really had enjoyed working for the company. He valued it all along, management and co-workers had always been great, and he literally had this company's best interest at heart. Rare find these days.
Employee finds another job the next day - but significantly lower paid.
In a few days, management comes back and says "oops, we didn't mean that, we actually want you back; but can you work for THIS MUCH (less)?"
This "less" = just a tad more than the job the employee found the next day after being laid-off.
The new job is with a smaller company and the employee has known one of the owners for quite a while (great person). They used to be co-workers when they were both working for another company in the past. The new place feels cozier in terms of work relationships, with some possibility for advancement - but nothing sure.
What should the employee do?
Accept re-hiring offer? Go with the new offer even though it is still less pay than the re-hiring offer carries - though not by much?
Why should the employee trust this company again?
Why didn't the company accept his pay-cut offer in the first place?
Also, the employee is at a senior level (not a beginner, hence not all that young).
I would go back because it is higher paying but I would also keep shopping for other opportunities. Keep in mind the fact that subsequent negotiations with other employers will be predicated on the pay you are then earning.
$7,000 a year isn't chump change even for a job in the $100T range.
Never trust a company, ever. I worked in the corporate HR group at a major company that did lots of acquisitions. We sometimes found a gem of an employee who provided wonderful services but we had no emotional attachment. We would conduct a market analysis and determine the value of that job and then we often would layoff the "overpaid" employee. At times it made a lot of sense to hire the former employee back at some negotiation of the market rate vs. what the former employee demanded. Very often the hire occurred and them employee went on to stay with the company happily for all for years forward.
Other times, not so much.
If I were you, I would look at the value of my whole compensation package -- including benefits -- and decide what all that meant to me. If retirement is looming in the next 8-10 years, consider all that. If there's any kind of pension or 401k match, include that in your calculations. If you believe your emotional system is one that harbors hard feelings or that you cannot create "cozy" at the old place, factor that in. Have a very decisive meeting with yourself.
Then go back to the old employer and make a counteroffer of 8% higher than what they offered to bring you back as and reinstatement of all your benefits.
So 3 for "don't go back" and 2 for "maybe, it depends" so far.
This is not my personal situation, by the way. Thank you for all the input so far.
As for "never trust a company", I think this is gut-level knowledge for everyone today.
Most of the time, for employees the question is not whether to trust the company or not.
It's simply that there are no better alternatives. And if they don't trust X company, then what? Go work for God?
It's not like employers can choose to leave a "non-trustworthy" company and go to work for a "trustworthy" one instead. The "Profit God" reigns supreme everywhere.
Sure...employers can also "choose" to start their own business - or so they are advised until it's clear this is unrealistic for most.
Companies simply use humans on the way to profits, and humans try to squeeze a pay-check from them while it's possible, not necessarily doing their best work when/if they can get away with it.
It is the result of a horribly selfish, inherently immoral approach that is rampant in today's work world, both on employers' and on the employees' side. The object of the entreprise itself or the profession ("make good widgets together") is ultimately of secondary importance. Both employers and employees just want to grab some money. The employers - want to grab A LOT of them.
The employees - mostly to pull off a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
If all of them could make that money somehow while bypassing the making of the widget altogether - they would.
When loyalty and trust between people is destroyed (and that includes employer-employee relationships), everyone suffers in the end; and of course, given the heightened vulnerability of employees, they end up suffering the most.
But the employers have a lot to lose too. When they are ready to get rid of their best employees simply to save a cent or two on their back...and they end up with chair-warmers who cheat the company with low levels of productivity, poor performance, stealing and just good old disinterest ...then they deserve it in spades. And so the cycle of reciprocal cheating and stealing from one other continues.
Once loyalty is removed from any sort of situation where people must cooperate - only a degrading, fanatic, schizophrenic money-grabbing entreprise is left on all sides.
Whoever thought this system can lead to high quality products, services, and increased quality of life for everyone was simply wrong.
Sometimes it's not just about the money, there's a comfort factor involved. Good job, good benefits, likes being there. Quality of job over other considerations. This sounds like a "go-with-your-gut" decision for this person.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
