Yes the fear is still there even if you are working with your decimal point salary increases since that time. Today many young people will trade money for place but that doesn’t mean your company’s self-promotion about being the best company to work for in your town.
False best places to work are ubiquitous. The truth is less often found.
The Great Recession impacted salaries for sure. My eyes get wide when I am recruiting for companies. I got a job spec for a major agency global account lead and the salary was less than I made 15 years ago when I wasn’t a global agency lead.
I would have loved the perks and the miles.
We all remember the Great Recession unless you were too young to notice but your parents did.
I sometimes think this is old news but then I get reminders.
I often get emails from folks that share how their recent life has changed. My company has decided to outsource their marketing function. I need to find work sooner than later. My heart still bends when I read them.
The first impact of the Great Recession was an increased feeling of paranoia if you are working.
Even if you are doing a great job, it doesn’t matter. The agency loses an account, a company gets bought and your life changes big time.
The only people that I know that aren’t paranoid are young people who are doing their own thing.
Or somebody like me that hasn’t had a job for over a decade. I have other fears.
Even in good times and even if you are working for great companies the press releases about downsizing happen.
Those impacted will share their news with their friends. It wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe this is happening to me and so it goes.
Paranoia creates an attitude of keeping things safe. the fear of Boo is not good for people, corporate growth, or entrepreneurship.
Most companies that are hiring hear the orders from up top. They get a checklist of what their boss wants. Probably the same check list when they got their job a decade ago in the world of flip phones and newspapers.
Unfortunately that world doesn’t exist anymore but their bosses don’t know because they don’t network much to get out of their cocoons. They are focused on work.
The HR people follow their orders because that is their job. I think that many still think there are lots of anxious folks on the sidelines. Largely not true in the digital world. But many hiring managers don’t get into the world of those people much. They are working and staying in their cubes of comfort.
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