Workplace

More companies are using furloughs to trim costs without permanently cutting their workforce, said Jeff Harrington in the St. Petersburg, Fla., Times. This strategy, long popular in “government and manufacturing circles,” has been embraced by employers across the board during the current downturn. “Furloughs come in different shapes and sizes, though they’re tethered to the same basic assumption: By compelling a worker to take unpaid time off one day a week, or several weeks a year, it spares a layoff for now.”

Furloughed workers should ask to take unpaid days in weeklong stints, said Dana Mattioli in The Wall Street Journal. Among other reasons, if off-days are grouped together, it may be possible to qualify for unemployment benefits. To take a whole week at once, rather than “nip a day here or there,” will also help to trim expenses for everything from child care to commuting. And smart workers shouldn’t treat these unpaid days like vacation. Instead, they should brush up their résumés, learn new skills, and network—in other words, start preparing for the possibility that this furlough could turn into a full-blown layoff.

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