Workers optimistic despite job cuts

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, September 2, 2001

By Amy Martinez

Cox News Service

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Have a happy Labor Day.

Sounds impossible, right?

Nearly 1 million job cuts have been announced this year, unemployment is expected to rise to 5 percent by January, and the nation’s first economic downturn in a decade is not likely to end soon.

But a new survey of 1,013 people nationwide finds surprisingly few workers who are seriously concerned about job security.

Nearly three of each four respondents said they’re "not at all worried" about being laid off, while 14 percent are "slightly worried," 7 percent "moderately worried," and only 5 percent "extremely worried."

"People feel that if they are laid off, they’ll get a severance package and they’ll be able to find a job quickly, even before the severance runs out," said Jack Bergen, president of the New York-based Council of Public Relations Firms, which paid for the survey. "People’s job-hunting skills are just a lot stronger today than 10 years ago."

About 25 percent identified themselves as layoff survivors during the past 18 months. More than half, 54 percent, said most companies that downsize fail to clearly explain the need for layoffs and their business outlooks.

Bergen encourages managers to be open with employees, even if the outlook is dim. "People can handle bad news. What they can’t handle is not having any news at all."

Indeed, more bad economic news could be on its way.

Consumer confidence fell in August on the heels of rising unemployment, and economists warn of continued layoffs and slower-than-usual holiday sales in the fourth quarter.

Career coach Tom Welch expects workers’ spirits to drop as the downturn lingers.

"When consumer confidence takes a dive, it’s normally because people are concerned about their jobs, and they don’t want to spend extra money," Welch said. "They really don’t feel that job security they had a year and a half ago."