Imagine working for a company for a long time and working your way either up the corporate ladder or up the assembly line for many years, finally making a decent living only to be asked to take a pay cut. Would you take it if you were asked? While it's easy to say you would never take a pay cut or you would rather quit than make less money, taking a pay cut is exactly what many employees are doing today with the many layoffs and company closing happening so often. When is it O.K. to take a pay cut and when is it a bad idea?
 
Here are some circumstances when you may consider taking a cut in pay:

• Moving to a different type of work or a new industry. You may find that the salary you were making was because of your seniority as well as because of the job. When you start a new job, you have no seniority so you're usually going to start at the bottom.
• If you're just returning to the workforce. You may have made a good salary before but if you were off for awhile, they may want to make sure you still have what it takes. Because you're just coming back, employers are usually not willing to offer too high because they feel you'll take less.
• Less stressful job with less traveling. Believe it or not, these things really do mean a lot to some workers and they're more than willing to make less money if they're happier on the job. A happier employee is always going to be more productive.
• It's required to avoid a business closing. Although this sounds drastic, this is the major reason why most employers are requesting their employees take a pay cut. Just so you're aware that even with a pay cut, your job has no guarantee.
• You really need the work. This is a big deal in today's workforce and economy. With so many jobs being lost, taking a pay cut is not the worst thing in the world. Hopefully, if and when the company recoups it's losses and starts to pick up, you'll get your salary back.

If there's one thing that the shaky and sagging economy has taught us all is that things aren't as they were years ago. One example is that years ago, it was unheard of to be asked to take a pay cut and it was even more unheard of to take the pay cut. That was considered like a slap in the fact and the biggest insult to the employee.

Today, it's become more of a sign of bad times than a bad employee. In fact, the fact that you are still with the company should make your realize your worth. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that if you do take a pay cut and later change jobs, you'll be asked to report the last wage you made for this company.