CNNMoney.com
Companies Economy International Corrections Pre-market Trading After-hours Trading Winners/Losers/Actives Bonds Currencies Commodities World Markets Money Magazine Real Estate Taxes Jobs Ask the Expert Money 101 Autos Mutual Funds The Help Desk Loan Center Best Places to Live Ask the Expert Ultimate Guide to Retirement Retirement Calculators Best Funds Best Places to Retire Fortune Brainstorm Tech Apple 2.0 Blog Big Tech Blog Sectors and Stocks Tech Talk Resource Guide Small Business Makeovers Questions & Answers Small Business Video 100 Best Places to Launch FSB 100 Fortune Small Business Fortune 500 Brainstorm Tech Investing Management C-Suite Rankings Main Create Portfolio Edit Portfolio Create Alerts Edit Alerts
Money and Main Street

More work, same pay

Layoff survivors are now stuck with more responsibilities and additional stress - for the same old salary.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer

How secure do you feel in your job?
  • Extremely secure
  • Fairly secure
  • A little insecure
  • Not secure at all

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Still lucky enough to have a job? You're likely doing the work of two or three people, working longer hours and not getting any extra pay.

Workers who have survived the barrage of layoffs over the past year now have to shoulder the burden of increased workloads and heightened stress -- often with no added compensation.

In a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com, 47% of workers reported they have taken on more responsibility because of a layoff within their organization. Thirty-seven percent said they are handling the work of two people and 30% feel burned out.

"Employees are feeling added pressure as they shoulder heavier workloads and strive to maintain productivity levels," Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder, said in a statement.

To accommodate increased responsibility, 34% of workers who kept their jobs after a layoff reported they are spending more time at the office, often working longer hours and more weekends, the survey said.

Cash-strapped employers, struggling to survive a recession, often have no choice but to ask remaining employees to pitch in more. With little in the way of available funds for salary increases, organizations are trying harder to retain top talent in other ways, according to John Dooney, manager of employment and HR strategy for The Society for Human Resource Management.

Dooney said that, in a recessionary economy, "high-potential employees," which are the workers with multiple skill sets that can function in a variety of different settings, are extremely valuable to employers.

But the impact and toll on people needs to be taken into consideration, according to Bob Eubank, executive director of the Northeast Human Resources Association.

"Companies that are just burning people out are making a big mistake," he said. "They have to start thinking about how their organizations are going to look when the recession ends, otherwise it's going to be mighty lonely."

Graphic designer Donna McCarty will likely consider a new position once the job market improves. McCarty, 41, has taken over partial responsibilities for three people who were laid off at her newspaper publishing company in Maryland.

"We've lost about 40 workers in the last two years," McCarty said. Over the last several months, she has had to pitch in to complete the work of the art director, real estate ad designer and IT professional - all laid off last August.

Despite the heftier workload, McCarty has not been compensated for the added responsibilities. "I did ask about my cost of living increase, but was put off," she explained.

Turning lemons into lemonade

The upside for workers like McCarty is that by taking on added responsibility, they are often also gaining valuable new skills that could help down the road.

"If nothing else, with the job market so competitive with designers, I can gain more experience for my résumé," McCarty said of her new roles at the publishing firm.

Being more flexible and stepping up during difficult times can help workers stand out and show their current employers that they're team players, while sharpening new skills at the same time.

"[Employees] should look at it as an opportunity to expand their own professional skills and prove to their organization that they have even more capabilities," agreed Suzanne Bates, author of the book "Motivate Like a CEO."

"That may lead to whole other careers and career opportunities," she said. To top of page

Features
Markets Last Change
Dow Jones 10,465.30 31.59 / 0.30%
Nasdaq 2,177.10 7.92 / 0.37%
S&P 500 1,110.56 4.91 / 0.44%
10-year Bond 100 27/32 Yield: 3.27%
U.S.Dollar 1 euro = $1.514 0.017
November 25, 2009 3:28 PM ET
CompanyPrice% Change
Barnes & Noble Inc 23.91 7.46%
US Airways Group Inc 3.48 5.46%
Chesapeake Energy Corp 24.88 5.20%
Limited Brands Inc 17.47 4.99%
Nov 25 3:23pm ET †
More Galleries
6 green cooks These culinary powerhouses use sustainable, locally grown produce to bring their dishes to the next level. More
Most (and least) affordable cities to buy a house Here are the 5 metro areas where the average American family can afford to purchase a median-priced home -- and the 5 where they can't. More
Holiday gifts for work and play You've got enough to worry about. So take the stress out of holiday shopping with our picks for everyone on your list. More

© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.