Furlough day may be disguised as forced holiday day off

Photo by Flickr user Kanu Hawaii

As this story indicates, Yahoo Inc. shut down down for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, asking its 13,000-plus employees to use up vacation time or take the days off without pay, as local labor laws permit.

It’s a pretty good bet that more private-sector companies will adopt this practice in 2010. Asking everyone to take the hit of losing a day’s or a week’s worth of pay is seen as a more palatable alternative to wholesale layoffs.

Several surveys earlier this year indicated that such involuntary furloughs were on the radar screen for the nation’s corporate employers. While the studies are about six months or so out of date, they do contain forward-looking data. And if nothing else, the studies are a great model for the types of questions you should be asking local executives and HR staffers.

Here’s the 2009 study from benefits expert Hewitt Associates, which found that 24 percent of the 518 employers surveyed were considering involuntary furloughs.

Towers Perrin, another global management consulting firm, published a similar study (PDF) last spring. Another source which may study industries or employers in your area is Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

If you’re not finding a lot of furlough activity in your region, peruses these studies for other cost-savings measures that will be of interest to readers, such as increased use of telecommuting, eliminating 401(k) matches and cutting bonuses.

And note as you read that there’s a flip side to the furlough/cost-cutting angle: How companies are retaining key talent that might be tempted to jump ship for what they perceive as more secure positions. That’s another good work-life piece for you to tackle.

This MSNBC piece includes food for thought about how furloughs may affect labor-law issues and unemployment benefits eligibility.

From a lifestyle or personal finance angle, consider a package on how to make the most of an unpaid week off. Here’s a Wall Street Journal article along those lines; for other angles talk with local financial advisers, career counselors, recruiting experts and even life coaches.

State labor departments and workforce commissions may keep track of planned or previous furloughs. Don’t overlook unions and employee organizations as sources of what’s coming up locally. Not to mention employees themselves. This previous post, “Get up close and personal with rank and file,” has pointers for getting corporate info direct from the employees at all company levels.