6 Tricks for Staying Out of the Layoff Firing Zone

April 9, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter

When it comes to layoffs, the proverbial ax has been falling regularly within several corporations, sending frightened employees scurrying to hide. Wouldn't it be nice to know that you don't have to concern yourself with this frightening prospect?

Here are six suggestions that may keep you out of the firing zone:

1. Be on time. Few things will infuriate your boss like constant tardiness. Unless you change your residence or office daily, there is no acceptable reason for always being late to work. Plan ahead: if you've been on your job more than a week, then you should be familiar enough with traffic patterns to know your commute's length.

Your boss has heard every excuse in the book, and even if your supervisor feigns understanding, it's only to get you to your desk and back to work as quickly as possible. The guy who is always breaking the copier stands a better chance than you when it's time to decide who to let go.

2. Learn another job. It's an unfortunate fact that many corporations in the throes of restructuring won't think twice about piling additional work on the employees who survive the layoff rounds. So knowing how to fill more than one position in your office can be a surefire way of getting a survivors' edge.

3. Be the go-to guru. In practically every office, there is that one person everyone turns to when something goes wrong. It's nice to know there is at least one person who is particularly adept at solving computer issues at the next desk, especially if getting someone from your IT department to show up is difficult. Or how about developing extraordinary customer-service skills? You'll be the most indispensable person around once your co-workers know that you can calm an out-of-control client.

These are just two examples, but look around and see what may be missing that could make life easier on those you work with, and then make sure they know you're the one person who can fill that gap.

4. Always steer clear of office politics. Nothing will put a bigger target on your back than being perceived as a troublemaker. It may seem innocent at first. Maybe you were just trying to express your opinion or show support for another employee. The next thing you know, you find yourself embroiled in a position that can't be defended, and suddenly you're the bad guy. You don't have to be a wallflower or anti-social; it's just a good idea to keep work conversations focused on work-related issues if you want to stay out of trouble.

5. Volunteer for the dirty work. Don't be afraid to take on the assignments others shun. As hard as it may be at the time, jumping in on these projects guarantees that you gain positive recognition. It may be hard to believe, but most of your co-workers want to just get through the week with minimal stress. Don't be one of them. I promise; you'll be so glad you volunteered when your supervisor starts thinning the herd.

6. Always produce quality results. When work needs to wrap up quickly at the end of a hectic work day, quality often suffers. Be the one who invests that extra 30 minutes, an hour or more on an outstanding deliverable to ensure quality, versus speed, is the priority. Your boss, and your customers, will take note of your tenacity and unflappable attention to world-class results.

So, there you have it. Six ways you could drastically improve your staying power in today's workforce jungle. And if you doubt any of these methods, just ask your boss. She just may tell you that adhering to these ideas is how she got her job.

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter is a Glassdoor career and workplace expert, chief career writer and partner with CareerTrend, and is one of only 28 Master Resume Writers (MRW) globally. Jacqui and her husband, "Sailor Rob," host a lively careers-focused blog at http://careertrend.net/blog. Jacqui is a power Twitter user (@ValueIntoWords), listed on several “Best People to Follow” lists for job seekers.

Tags:: employment,; careers

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6 Volvo Drive? Yeah, I worked for Crestron for about 5 years until the sleazy bastards fired me on trumped up charges I still to this day can't believe. Basically working as a tester I was not getting along with some higher-ups because I complained about the faulty (and often missing or non-existent) test fixtures which were instrumental in doing my job. Everyone pointed fingers at everyone else for this and nothing was ever settled. I tried to cope the best I could but was considered a "troublemaker" apparently to certain persons there (blow-hard overpaid types with no real education for that matter--but they got into the company when it was very small and consolidated their positions). Furthermore, being essentially a loner during breaks and lunch (I went to my car and read books!), I wasn't particularly liked. Word got around, I guess, that I was an Atheist (I do read science journals and SF novels!) my lovely ignorant co-workers (Muslims and Christian fundies) began to back away from me and circulate BS stories, piling BS on BS. One day I went to work, put my headphones on like any other ordinary day and I was tapped on the shoulder. I took my headset off, turned around and standing there were three armed policemen. My rarely-seen-or-spoken-to senior boss (and Engineer named Glen Iopolo or something like that) stood there with them, took my coat, started going through my pockets. Took my baseball cap off and started "searching" through the flaps. The idea was to give the impression that I had a dope cache on me or something! I was escorted off the premises (flanked by front of row upon row of my fellow employess like watching a circus freak!). They took my car keys to search my car! And I was driven to the local police station. The story I got was that Someone said I Said that I was going to get a gun and shoot the place up! I never said such a thing of course and nothing was every proven but I was fired on the spot. The previous month I received an excellent job evaluation report, no less! Over the next year or two I paid over a thousand dollars to a sleazebag lawyer to help me to at least collect my unemployement which I eventually got after a hearing in some ghetto town hundreds of miles distant in a sleazy office. There Crestron's stooge, a young HR manager fallguy was called in and said he took these actions for fear of the company employees, blah blah blah (but Never was the real man, Iopolo, ever mentioned). No "witnesses" were present at the hearing but three papers signed by "witnesses" were presented: all three supposedly heard me say something irrational, all three were Hispanics who spoke English as a second language and the papers were "translations"--and all three were coincidentally "Out of the country" at the same time so they naturally couldln't make this meeting. The papers looked like they were typed by 5-year olds "He said gun and scared me. I scared, was." This whole affair was like some Twilight Zone episode to me!

Captain of NJ 12:17PM January 04, 2013

Interesting, I was just taken to this link from another page - here is the sentence that got me here: Your company conducts a massive layoff without giving 60 days' notice (see the W.A.R.N Act).
I worked for a horrible company called Crestron Electronics in Rockleigh NJ several years ago. They had a massive layoff but gave no one notice. I don't know if the W.A.R.N Act was in effect then and if it was, if the statute of limitations is up, but each one of those people that were laid off (all over 50, by the way) should sue the pants off Crestron.
I was not laid off then, my boss liked me. But my boss left a few months later. I was being harassed by two men at the company. One was a sleazy slimy consultant with alcohol and drug problems and the other was a bi-polar argumentative subordinate that shoved me in a fit of rage when I corrected him. He had "befriended" the wife of the owner's son and the consultant was on their good side as well so I got the ax about a month after my boss left. I think he knew they were going to let me go but never said a word. It was a nightmare. The subordinate got promoted and the consultant never had to take responsibility either. Yes, I tried using our corrupt justice system only to find it was more corrupt than I already knew.

Former Employee of Horrid Crestron Electronics of NJ 1:59PM May 11, 2012