Thank God, I am safe

‘Thank God, I am safe’… This is what naturally came to my mind when I got to know that I would not be pink-slipped at a time when jobs are being lost by the minute. <br><br>

In the present context, when even the most powerful executives and economies across the world are going through a bad phase, trying to absorb the shock that has come from the global meltdown, it is at least satisfying that there is no threat to my job. The fact that I will not be a loser and can continue working with the same ease and élan that I have been in the past, keeps me going. <br><br> Well, here it becomes mandatory, to thank the excellent management skills and the sound financial state of my organisation that helped me escape the ill effects of the recessionary trends, which has made lives miserable for millions. <br><br> But the story does not end here. One can easily imagine the hardships being faced by hundreds or thousands of those across the world who have either lost their jobs or have drifted a bit farther even from getting one due to the economic recession. <br><br> For the past few months, we have been listening to news about world’s major industrial houses and banks falling prey to the economic recession because they are on the brink of bankruptcy or are being forced to announce lay offs and closures. <br><br> I can sense the enormity of this crisis more intensely than a layman since I am in business of news and forced to pen the bitter realities almost every day. <br><br> Crashes in the world stock market, declining industrial output, slumping demands and thus sales, shrinking profitability, the liquidity crunch and the subsequent efforts by the respective governments to announce bail out plans for saving economy has triggered panic and rendered every one tight lipped about his future. <br><br> Today there is no one denying the fact that this economic slowdown has touched the under developed, developing and the most developed economies in the world and affected the rich and the poor in varying degrees. It is needless to say how many techies in America alone have committed suicide for not being able to pay their debts after losing their jobs or how many families have been ruined. <br><br> The appalling situation has sent jitters across the corporate world, forcing every big or small company to evolve strategies aimed at cost cutting and downsizing its manpower. <br><br> So obviously, this has pushed everyone to contemplate about what next if they lose jobs... or what lies for them in future. The economic recession does not seem to be ending any time soon and only God can tell how many more organisations and people will fall victim to it. <br><br> The fear of losing (because if not me then some one else would surely be axed) has usurped every one and is affecting the performance levels of every individual. It is not surprising that the buzz these days is about who was terminated or who is next in the line. <br><br> The economic scene has also brought disappointments to all those who either gave their best shot or had kept their bosses happy hoping to get a good review at the year end, but all in vain. Those looking for greener pastures have cleverly put their shifting plans on hold for the time being. Let alone talks about performance appraisals and promotions, one seems to be pretty comfortable with no bonus or pay cuts and long vacations without pay. <br><br> The gloomy situation has put extra pressure on the companies, as they know that adopting “hire and fire policy” will not help in the long run. Evolving effective ways to deal with the recession poses a colossal challenge to the management and it needs to bring transparency in its actions. The need of the hour is to provide a good leadership to its employees, boost their morale and divert focus from retrenchment. <br><br> If ever a time, this is when bosses need to be more open and friendly and employees need to have patience and maintain composure in this time of crisis. <br><br> One should know that it is the time to give our 100% to the organisation because it had paid us handsomely in good times. One should also not lose confidence and let these things affect his/her performance or morale. Avoiding unnecessary gossip about one’s salary and appraisal can help prevent things from getting complicated further and helps maintain certain decorum. <br><br> The ghost of this economic recession will vanish soon, but it will test us about whether we dithered under pressure or braved the “Tsunami of Recession” with patience and confidence.