Would you cut your hours to save a colleague's job?

16 February 2009

1 minute read

Would you cut your hours to save a colleague's job?

With redundancy an ever-present threat, it might be difficult feel altruistic at the moment. But if you were faced with the option of cutting your working hours or seeing a colleague collect their P45, which would you choose?

Research by financial recruiter GRS Group suggests this is a divisive issue. 52.2% of its poll of 2,000 City professionals said they would work fewer hours. The remainder would rather look out for themselves.

The poll was inspired by President Obama's comment at his inaugural address that: "It is the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours."

Since then, a proportion of employees at KPMG have agreed to work a four-day week in order to stave off wide-spread job cuts.

Would you do the same? Or is it better to hope that when the axe falls, it's not on your head? Your thoughts please...

AUTHOReFinancialCareers UK

Insider Comment

Pa
Pablo
19 February 2009
Is anyone working 70 hours anymore (apart from maybe the HR reapers)
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ba
baiyan
18 February 2009
Even as a contractor if there was an opportunity to cut my hours to have one other paid, I would do it. But then again as mentioned already in the comments, the effort should go to the benefit of a colleague.
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Be
Ben
18 February 2009
I and plenty of others have already made this decision and when push comes to shove (literally) many have taken a pay cut. In my case it is because almost the whole team we currently have is important to the success of the company. Every situation will be different - but for us to have any chance of survival we need 95% of the team we've got - i.e. we're kicking ourselves in the head if 25% of the team goes and that was the alternative.
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Da
David B.
17 February 2009
Will respond when you rethink the grammar in your question... How can your editor possibly let something like that slip? It's embarrassing just to read it.
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ON
ONE EYED PIRATE
17 February 2009
Ok are you all not missing something here, who in the city gets paid hourly apart from temps?
How can one cut their hours when you are contracted to 35 but in reality work 70 -80. In the end it's survival of the fittest and if you want to cut your hours the exit doors on the right!
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