The Double-Whammy: Uninsured and Unemployed

Because mine and my family's health insurance was at one time provided through my then-employer (as is the case with two-thirds of all Americans), we lost our health insurance the same day I lost my job. (Don't get me started about the injustice of cutting off an employee's health insurance at 5 PM the same day you boot them out the company's door.)

Unlike many Americans, my family was lucky. My husband had managed to convert his contract position into a traditional job days before I got the axe. Because he was in the process of enrolling in the organization's insurance plan, he was able to have our daughter and I immediately covered by his plan. Had that not been the case, we would have faced premiums of $2,000 A MONTH to retain our previous coverage.

So, it comes to no surprise to anyone who's been following the economy and the U.S. health care crisis that this year's devastating job losses have likely increased the ranks of the uninsured by 4 million people. This number according to a new study by Families USA, a Washington, D.C., organization that advocates for consumer health care improvements.

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"People who receive a pink slip experience a double whammy. They not only lose their jobs,  but they usually lose their  health coverage as

 well. That's why health reform is so important."

- Ron Pollack, Families USA executive director
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The bottom line? If companies can continue to behave so badly, eliminating workers' access to affordable health care with the flick of a termination letter, they must be required to join with the government to finance a public health care option for those they so thoughtlessly discard.

To access Families USA's report, click here.

Your Company and Layoffs - A Winning Combination!!!

Are your company’s profits not growing as fast as they used to? Are shareholders getting upset? Well, why not consider layoffs?

This handy, easy-to-follow tutorial, courtesy of YouTube answers burning questions such as:

• Are layoffs ethical?

• "Corporat-ese," confusing euphemisms and other obfuscations that increase the comfort of executives delivering the bad news, all they while enabling them to actually not tell employees anything.

• What to do about messy situations, like the employee scheduled for life-saving open-heart surgery next month, but who has now lost his health insurance because the company laid him off?

• FREE outplacement advice often offered to soon-to-be-ex-employees.

• When should companies give laid-off employees more than 5 minutes to clean out their offices?

• And what about those company staplers?

In the "Isn't-That-Sort-Of-Obvious?" category: Getting Hired, Never a Picnic, is Increasingly a Trial, the NYT reports

The trend of employers putting potential employees through a battery of interviews has intensified in the tough economic climate, The New York Times reports in today's edition in a story that talks about job seekers enduring five, six or seven interviews.

"But even if there are substantive reasons for companies to take so long to decide, many job hunters ask why so many employers interview them once, twice or more — and then never get back in touch. And for that question, no one had a good answer."

Alas, I don't have much insight into what leads to this behavior on the part of prospective employees, but for insight into what it feels like to be on the receiving end of this - and worse - behavior, please check out an article I wrote for the Chicago Tribune's business section.

Even during times of lower unemployment, things aren't always better, as The Wall Street Journal's Joann Lublin reported in this article, in which she quoted me and other mistreated job seekers who demanded "equal time" in the newspaper's pages after an article she wrote about misbehaving job candidates.

Being "THE MAN" has its benefits, but being healthier isn't necessarily one of them

Inadvertently "Stickin' It to the Man"?

At many companies, executive-level employees enjoy a special health plan that covers 100% of their health care expenses. This can include all co-pays, Lasik surgery, every aspect of Junior's braces, physician-prescribed stays at fat farms and travel and accommodations to see out-of-town medical specialists. This same privilege isn't normally extended to rank-and-file employees, who pay standard co-pays and at least some percentage of the total cost of their health care.

But working stiffs can take heart: THE MAN in the corner office may appear tan, rested and ready to lop the heads of another 10% of the company's workforce, but new research by the University of Toronto shows that he is more likely to be plagued by psychological and physical problems that can offset any health benefits that you would assume result from that "highly compensated" job and its matching Lamborghini health plan.

The study, which involved 1,800 American workers from a variety of occupations and industries, found that those in positions of authority report:

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  Significantly higher levels of interpersonal conflict with others;
  
  

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  Are more likely to experience conflicts between work and family life; and
  
  

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  Are at increased risk for psychological distress, anger and poor health.

People with "job authority" were defined as those who direct or manage the work of others, or can hire or fire other employees.

The study's findings go to the heart of a seeming paradox in research about job stress: although people in higher status positions enjoy benefits that should translate to better health, they're usually not much healthier than workers without the perks.

"Unfortunately, there are also downsides to job authority that undermine or offset the upsides of having power at work," said the study's lead author, University of Toronto Sociology Professor Scott Schieman. "In most cases, the health costs negate the benefits."

(Not that it's all that relevant to this post, but if you want a laugh and insight into the image at the top of this post, check out the classic Sprint commercial from early 2001, "Dawn of a New Era," when blogs were as new and revolutionary as Twitter was last year.)

Study finds worrying about job security may be more damaging than losing a job

Recently released findings of a longitudinal study that asked the same group of workers about their job security fears between 1986 and 1989, and then again between 1995 and 2005, has found that employees' fears of losing their jobs have grown dramatically.

But perhaps a more significant and surprising finding: constantly worrying about unemployment may be more damaging to a worker's health than actually losing a job. "In fact, chronic job insecurity was a stronger predictor of poor health than either smoking or hypertension in one of the groups we studied," said University of Michigan sociologist Sarah Burgard, with the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and co-author of the study.

"It may seem surprising that chronic high job-insecurity is more strongly linked with health declines than actual job loss or unemployment," Burgard said. "But there are a number of reasons why this is the case. Ongoing ambiguity about the future, inability to take action unless the feared event actually happens, and the lack of institutionalized supports associated with perceived insecurity are among them."

Given all that's at stake, these feelings are predictable, she added. "When you consider that not only income, but ... many important benefits that give Americans piece of mind - including health insurance and retirement benefits - are [often] tied to employment, it's understandable that persistent job insecurity is so stressful," Burgard said.

Organizations need to learn more about workplace conditions, activities or behaviors that cause these problems, and then intervene to decrease employees' perceptions of insecurity, she recommended.

"Certainly job insecurity is nothing new, but the numbers [of people] experiencing persistent job insecurity could be considerably higher during this global recession, so these findings could apply much more broadly today than they did even a few years ago," Burgard added.

The NYT pontificates on how good candidates can clear the HR hurdle

The New York Times today offers so-so advice on how to get around the HR gatekeeper and get to the hiring manager when seeking a job for which you're not PERFECTLY qualified.

Most relevant passage:

If your only relationship with the company is electronic, via a job board or a posting, your chances are not good. H.R. people confronting hundreds of faceless online applications have one main goal: to weed out as many people as they can.

“The employer is not expected to be creative or flexible or see the opportunity in you that you think you might have” when the relationship is purely electronic, said Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer at Adecco North America, the staffing firm. She considers that to be an “unrealistic expectation on the part of the job seeker.”

But if you can establish personal contact with someone on the inside, you may be able to make your case. It’s tiresome to have to repeat this, and a lot of people don’t like to hear it, but it comes down to networking. Job seekers who don’t fit all the requirements “need to go around the gatekeeper; they need to find another door,” said Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers, a career management firm in New York. If you are introduced to a hiring manager by someone you know, there is more trust, and suddenly “things aren’t as important as they appeared to be on that job spec,” she said.

Top 10 Things I Learned on My Way (Back) to the Unemployment Office

Almost 17% of all Americans are now either jobless or underemployed (forced to work fewer hours for less pay and probably no benefits). Think about it: one of every 6 working-age adults you encounter isn’t employed at all or is working far less than he or she would like to be. Some worked simply for a paycheck and the ability to provide for themselves and their families. Others, like me, had spent years making their careers a focal point of their very identities. Either way, we’ve been robbed of something most Americans are hard-wired to believe is just always there. When it's suddenly not, it can be debilitating, demoralizing and devastating.

As I embark on figuring out what the hell my newest career adventure will be, I compiled a "Top 10 List" of the most important things I’ve learned during my three career “sabbaticals.” I hope the list will help those looking for work:

1. In today’s work world, employees should be committed to their professions and careers, not attached to their employers or jobs.

2. Your resume should ALWAYS be up-to-date.


3. Companies should handle downsizings with empathy and respect, but most don’t. If you can truly, deep-down accept that, the humiliations and indignities you experience will be less humiliating and debilitating.


4. If you’re unlucky enough to lose your job, maintain your professionalism, but push for what will help you stay afloat until you find new employment. Offer specifics as to why you deserve additional compensation. If at first you’re told “no,” approach someone higher up the company’s food chain, ideally someone with whom you have a relationship. (In the past, I’ve been able to negotiate 1) a six-month extension of my health insurance; 2) the right to keep my company-issued laptop computer; 3) a six-week extension of my employment to enable my 401(k) to vest; and 4) a doubling of an initial severance offer. In two instances, I had to go all the way to CEO to win those concessions.) If that prospect makes you uncomfortable, recall everything you’ve done for this company: the long days (and nights); the weekend work in the deserted office; the snotty, entitled executive/manager comebacks in response to honorable and well-considered work; and the other miscellaneous sacrifices and indignities. Then ask yourself, “What’s the worst that can happen?” After all, they’ve already taken your livelihood.


5. Always talk to a headhunter – even if you’re happy in your current job. But never forget that a headhunter works for the hiring company, not for you.


6. Most jobs (especially during uncertain economic times) come through personal contacts, not through Internet job boards or newspaper ads. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but contact everyone you know and tell them that you’re seeking work. Losing a job no longer has the stigma it once did, and you’ll be surprised how often people are willing to help. And then periodically follow up. When I changed careers years ago, the absolute best job I’ve ever had – a senior corporate communications position at Playboy Enterprises, Inc. – came through a graduate school mentor with whom I stayed in touch and whose wife became my boss at Playboy.


7. While everyone hopes his or her “time out” will be brief, it may not be, so line up contract work. I invested $800 to become an S-Corp., and after two years, was billing $15,000 a month. Incorporating offers both tax advantages and headaches. (Note to self: QuickBooks is NOT your friend.) But most important, having my own company gave me psychological solace, a business with which I could legitimately claim affiliation. And I now anticipate returning to my S-Corp and remaining at least partially self-employed, probably for the remainder of my working life.)


8. Although interviewing companies should be polite, many won’t be. (For more on this, read an article I freelanced for the Chicago Tribune about this demoralizing phenomenon by clicking here.)  If you’re looking for work, you truly have no choice except to keep plugging away and do your best not to take it personally.


9. Curb your excitement about a job prospect until you have an offer letter in hand.


10. Especially in our modern world that includes the trauma and soul-searching invoked by Sept. 11 and our current struggles with the worst recession since the "Great D," use your “time out” to appreciate all you have for which to be grateful. Go to the public library. See a weekday matinee. Take a week during a non-holiday season to visit relatives or friends. After all, as I try to periodically remind myself, things always can be worse.

Workplace promises may be nice, but employees now want to be shown the money

Promises organizations make to employees matter in establishing and maintaining a “psychological contract,” but in an era of massive layoffs, rescinded benefits and wage freezes or cuts, pledges don't matter - actions do.

"Basically, it’s 'show me the money,' give me developmental opportunities, and provide me with support," said Samantha Montes, professor at the Rotman School of Management and the University of Toronto Scarborough, and co-author of the study, to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. "What this means is that organizations should focus more on delivering valuable benefits and opportunities to employees, rather than investing time, effort, and resources into making promises that these benefits will be delivered."

It's nice to validate commonly held beliefs, but given the way many employer-employee relationships have devolved in the past 30 years, is this a surprise to anyone? In this new "Cold War" - the one that's erupted in many work places - isn't the old "Cold War" adage, "Trust, but verify," the standard even the most trusting employee lives by?

Engaged employees are committed to their careers, but are they loyal to their organizations?

The idea that highly engaged workers will continue to work tirelessly for organizations despite diminishing resources often isn't true, according to a recently published article in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.

“When the economy is experiencing a general downturn, it may be unlikely that engaged employees low in organizational commitment can find another position," said Thomas Britt, a professor in industrial-organizational psychology at Clemson University and author of the study. "But if they do have the opportunity to change jobs, they will. Managers who fail to position employees to be effective in their roles and provide organizational support may lose their most talented and energetic people."

These are critical times for managers, Britt added, citing the economy and organizations’ efforts to trim costs. Managers need to balance the pressure from their bosses to do more with less against motivating and keeping their employees engaged in their work and in the organization. This becomes more important when work forces are reduced and employees are asked to increase their work output, especially work that reaches beyond the scope of their jobs and their capabilities. (Read the full article on ScienceDaily.com.)

My question is, do employers' value engagement enough in the current economic climate to go the extra mile to retain their high performers? Countless employees toiling in the Great Recession have been given the message, explicitly or implicitly, that they're lucky to have a job and now's not the time to expect adequate resources, fair raises or even meaningful work. That message doesn't do a lot for employee motivation or engagement, but it's prevalent.

I surrender ...

I've basically given up my search for the elusive next great job, instead deciding my next great career adventure may be with myself.

I've chronicled a few of my job search experiences here, and will add more, but while I continued to interview with companies that often didn't seem to know what they wanted, work kept coming my way. It started with some freelance work last fall that continued through January. More contractual work - with a thriving Chicago-area dot-com came next; it continues and is on the brink of growing substantially. A contractual affiliation with a Chicago marketing communications company finally prompted me to ask, "Exactly why am I still investing a considerable amount of time interviewing - with no returns - when I could be my own boss?"

So, Tipitina Communications, Inc. was born, duly incorporated in the state of Illinois. I'm learning the ropes of small business ownership (earnestly working on becoming a QuickBooks expert).

Business is surprisingly good for a start-up and I'm thrilled to have control over my own schedule ... and my own destiny.

In what may seem ironic, making this decision will actually free me to do a better job with this blog: I can write honestly about experiences - mine and those of others - without fear of ticking off a company with which I have or am intervewing.

So, stay tuned ... I still plan to document the frustrations of seeking that next job, along with companies that are treating their prospective employees right and trends that could either make it easier - or God forbid, more difficult - to reach career Nirvana.