Working Wounded: How to Keep Your Job in a Recession

Jan. 18, 2008 — -- Dear WOUNDED: All of the recession talk has got me nervous about how safe my job is. What can an average guy do to survive a downturn?

ANSWER: Here's a question we've all been asked, "Got change for a dollar?" Did you know there are 283 different ways to combine pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters to change a buck? 283.

There are also hundreds of ways that you can change to survive an economic downturn. Below, are three dos and one don't to put all this recession talk into perspective, offer strategies for coping at work and to maintain your sanity. For more, check out "The Simplicity Survival Handbook" by Bill Jensen (Basic, 2003).

DO Due diligence. The simple definition of a recession is two quarters of economic decline, but some have gone on for longer. Do homework on your company, or the company you are thinking of applying to work for, to learn how well positioned it is to survive a downturn.

You can prowl the Internet, check out the business press, visit a business librarian or go talk to a stock broker. But remember, even in the epicenter of current concern, the mortgage business, many people will keep their jobs. However, if you are already losing sleep over the economy, you want to explore a move to an industry better able to withstand turbulence.

DO Keep your perspective. First off, despite all the headlines, we aren't in a recession. We may be in a recession. Remember, we're talking economists here, the ultimate lagging indicator. As the old joke says, economists have correctly predicted 12 of the last six recessions. On the other hand, there were nine recessions between 1948 and 2000, almost two per decade. Economic activity isn't an escalator that only goes up — declines happen. Get used to it. Even if we don't suffer a downturn this year, chances are that we will before too long.

DO Conserve. OK, this sounds like a BGO — a blinding glimpse of the obvious. But if you take the time to look, you just might be surprised to learn about all the places that you are paying too much — for cable, for eating out, etc. It's no different at work with unnecessary contracts, fees and consultants. Look for places to tighten the belt so more drastic actions (layoffs!) won't be required down the line.

DON'T Get desperate. Nervous about making ends meet? You're not alone. Remember there are a lot of people who under the guise of helping you out are focused on emptying your pockets. Internet scams, get-rich-quick schemes and snake oil salesmen multiply like rabbits during turbulent times. The old saying, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," still applies. Before you invest in any business or person, do your homework.

There is a tendency to want to make great change during economic travails, however it's the people who keep their eyes on the dollar who tend to land on their feet.

"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job. It's a depression when you lose your own." — President Truman

Sick about work … 83 percent of workers work while sick (up from 77 percent in 2005)

• Do you go to work sick? No, I put my health first (17 percent in '07, 23 percent in '05)
• Yes, I go to work sick, because of my workload (37 percent in '07, 34 percent in '05)
• Yes, because it feels risky to take time off (25 percent in '07, 26 percent in '05)
• Yes, I save my sick days for when my kids need me (21 percent in '07, 17 percent in '05)

From: ComPsych

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. He'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than he does. His books include "The Boss's Survival Guide" and "Gray Matters: The Work place Survival Guide." Send your questions or comments to him via: bob@workingwounded.com.

ABCNEWS.com publishes a new Working Wounded column every Friday.This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.