How about time-off instead of lay-offs?
In Europe, companies have traditionally turned to requiring that their employees take shorter workweeks, longer vacations and more time off when faced with an economic downturn… which is of course, very divergent from the United States model of cost-cutting. Even when not faced with a recession, France has a standard 35 hour workweek and Britain offers 6 weeks of paid vacation per year. However, if you are reading this from the U.S., I’m going to guess that you personally know someone who worked well over 40 hours per week but has now been laid off–and I’m sure you have seen the damage that it causes. But is one work environment intrinsically better than the other?
