I don\u2019t think it\u2019s hyperbole to say that there is a war going on, but most people think it is only a medical war being fought by the brave men and women in hospitals, health care facilities and laboratories.<\/p>\n
In fact, there are multiple fronts in this war, and I believe that one of the most critical is the attack on jobs.\u00a0 So, I\u2019d like to propose an idea that would allow more people to enlist in this fight: voluntary pay cuts.<\/em><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how it could work\u2026<\/p>\n Employees can go to the leaders of their companies and propose a program for voluntary pay cuts for as long as this crisis continues. Maybe ten percent of their salaries. It will depend on the situation. Companies would then use that money \u2013 or set it aside \u2013 expressly for the purpose of avoiding having to lay off any employees during this time.\u00a0 What is critical is that this program be:<\/p>\n \u2022 Voluntary<\/strong>: Some people are in a position to make more sacrifices than others, and some aren\u2019t in a position to make any sacrifices at all. That\u2019s fine. Let\u2019s just tap into the desire of so many people who want to offer what they can to help others.<\/p>\n \u2022 For the purpose of avoiding layoffs<\/strong>: This isn\u2019t a cost cutting measure to protect the bottom line of a company. It is about preserving the dignity of real people who have enough to worry about right now, and shouldn\u2019t be afraid of financial ruin.<\/p>\n I am convinced that we will all be SHOCKED at 1) the number of people who will volunteer to do this, and 2) how it will improve their morale and the overall morale of the people in organizations that take part. I realize that there will be a dozen reasons why your company\u2019s lawyers and accountants might object to this. I get it. That\u2019s their job to think of obstacles. But do it anyway! Find a way! Do it soon! We are in a war, and a big part of that war is the sense of helplessness that people feel when they can\u2019t make sacrifices for the good of their colleagues who are suffering.<\/p>\n Now, for those organizations that are fortunate enough to avoid any immediate concerns about layoffs, here\u2019s another idea:\u00a0 Ask employees to volunteer to cut their salary and use that money to make purchases, or even gifts, to small- and medium-sized vendors and partners who are in great need. Those vendors span plenty of industries, but especially include those in hotels, restaurants, travel-related services and personal care services like cleaning, hair care and child care.<\/p>\n To avoid layoffs, CEOs should enable the company’s employees to opt in to a temporary salary reduction\u2014and many more will volunteer than you think. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3812,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2199,874,871,879],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compensation","category-crisis-management-leadershipmanagement","category-leadershipmanagement","category-strategy-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLet\u2019s all enlist in this war that threatens the dignity and financial health of our brothers and sisters. Let\u2019s find a way!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"