d you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap opLoose Lips; Sink Ships

A friend of mine just called and said that he was told that he was going to get laid off.

I said to myself I know this guy's working habits and he's the last guy anybody would want to lay off. So it must be someone who wants to undermine him. If you are on the job, and someone comes up to you and says there is going to be a layoff, do not let this affect your attitude towards work.

Some people think that this is a form of entertainment. They prey upon individuals who are insecure. If you are doing just fine, and you are not on the lay off list, and you let this information affect you, then you run the risk of making a logistical error, that may in fact, put you on the layoff list, when you would have never made it there in the first place.

This is corporate psychological warfare, and the perp (or perps) of the rumor have a motive, and that motive is to disrupt your productivity.

By running their little game, they attempt to increase their chances of staying by causing you to make a mistake and look bad, while they maintain their quasi-pseudo status quo. When in reality, the boss has known all along who will be staying, and who will be leaving.

If perchance you have cardinal knowledge, and know you are staying, do not convey this; because you will undoubtedly draw the ire of the big guns, which may, or may not be effective, but you surely do not need the added competition, at this time, for no reason.

Also, it may not always be just one person, but a group that works together to attack one individual, or a selected group of individuals. If it's a group, than they probably may have first established ties outside the work environment, previous to ever entering the job. Some likely suspect groups would be school alma-maters, the company bar crowd, fraternal organizations that do funny handshakes, or just plain old nepotism. (the family plan)

So now let's break this thing down. If you are planning to get laid off, then you can just stop reading here. But if not, then trust me, all a boss really wants is for you to be able to do your job, get along with everybody, and show up every day.

A good formula for keeping a job, is to be diplomatic, be a sponge, and be there. Being diplomatic is pretty much self-explanatory, being a sponge means soaking up as much knowledge about the job as possible, and being there, means don't miss any days. You would be surprised how long you can make a job last by following those three simple little maxims. I would actually go so far as to say that a person could keep a job for as long as they want, if they just never violate those three rules.

OK, now let's analyze. Let's say that you are fat, dumb, and happy on-the-job. You're minding your own business, and you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap ope

may in fact, put you on the layoff list, when you would have never made it there in the first place.

This is corporate psychological warfare, and the perp (or perps) of the rumor have a motive, and that motive is to disrupt your productivity.

By running their little game, they attempt to increase their chances of staying by causing you to make a mistake and look bad, while they maintain their quasi-pseudo status quo. When in reality, the boss has known all along who will be staying, and who will be leaving.

If perchance you have cardinal knowledge, and know you are staying, do not convey this; because you will undoubtedly draw the ire of the big guns, which may, or may not be effective, but you surely do not need the added competition, at this time, for no reason.

Also, it may not always be just one person, but a group that works together to attack one individual, or a selected group of individuals. If it's a group, than they probably may have first established ties outside the work environment, previous to ever entering the job. Some likely suspect groups would be school alma-maters, the company bar crowd, fraternal organizations that do funny handshakes, or just plain old nepotism. (the family plan)

So now let's break this thing down. If you are planning to get laid off, then you can just stop reading here. But if not, then trust me, all a boss really wants is for you to be able to do your job, get along with everybody, and show up every day.

A good formula for keeping a job, is to be diplomatic, be a sponge, and be there. Being diplomatic is pretty much self-explanatory, being a sponge means soaking up as much knowledge about the job as possible, and being there, means don't miss any days. You would be surprised how long you can make a job last by following those three simple little maxims. I would actually go so far as to say that a person could keep a job for as long as they want, if they just never violate those three rules.

OK, now let's analyze. Let's say that you are fat, dumb, and happy on-the-job. You're minding your own business, and you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap op

the big guns, which may, or may not be effective, but you surely do not need the added competition, at this time, for no reason.

Also, it may not always be just one person, but a group that works together to attack one individual, or a selected group of individuals. If it's a group, than they probably may have first established ties outside the work environment, previous to ever entering the job. Some likely suspect groups would be school alma-maters, the company bar crowd, fraternal organizations that do funny handshakes, or just plain old nepotism. (the family plan)

So now let's break this thing down. If you are planning to get laid off, then you can just stop reading here. But if not, then trust me, all a boss really wants is for you to be able to do your job, get along with everybody, and show up every day.

A good formula for keeping a job, is to be diplomatic, be a sponge, and be there. Being diplomatic is pretty much self-explanatory, being a sponge means soaking up as much knowledge about the job as possible, and being there, means don't miss any days. You would be surprised how long you can make a job last by following those three simple little maxims. I would actually go so far as to say that a person could keep a job for as long as they want, if they just never violate those three rules.

OK, now let's analyze. Let's say that you are fat, dumb, and happy on-the-job. You're minding your own business, and you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap op

ust me, all a boss really wants is for you to be able to do your job, get along with everybody, and show up every day.

A good formula for keeping a job, is to be diplomatic, be a sponge, and be there. Being diplomatic is pretty much self-explanatory, being a sponge means soaking up as much knowledge about the job as possible, and being there, means don't miss any days. You would be surprised how long you can make a job last by following those three simple little maxims. I would actually go so far as to say that a person could keep a job for as long as they want, if they just never violate those three rules.

OK, now let's analyze. Let's say that you are fat, dumb, and happy on-the-job. You're minding your own business, and you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap op

d you are getting the job done. Everything is hunky-dory. Along comes Major Bozo, or Bozette, and injects his or her venom. Now that you have been stung with the idea of being laid off, the first thing a logical person would do is put themselves in that scenario. Once metaphysically placed in such a negative environment, Pandora's box swings wide-open, and the tendency is to invent a worst-case scenario. Possibly one where you have not found a new job, and your savings or unemployment is about to run out. Now remember, you are still on in the job, but you are hypothesizing all of this. Do you think all of this is going to have a positive effect on your productivity? Do you think this little internal soap opera is going to make you "chipper"? No it's not. Now remember, the purp is looking for a change, any change....to the negative.

So, how do you fight back? I'll tell you exactly how you fight back. As soon as someone says anything about a layoff, you do absolutely nothing different. You ignore it. You act like it was never said. Like your ears never heard it. You do not react in even the slightest way. You just keep on doing as you have always done. Do not let this psychological warfare affect your ability to earn a living. Chances are, you are a good egg, and you are not, and never were, destined for the layoff list.

Don't overreact. Do not get up on a soap box and start venting everything that has been bothering you since day one; because you will be playing right into the hands of the enemy by overreacting; and your detractors will love it.

Watch your start and stop times. When the boss has been instructed to come up with a lay off list, and there are empty slots on it that have to be filled, this is how he finds new entries, do not all of a sudden become a slacker, just because of the effect of a rumor.

Look, even if there is a sea change, and everybody gets laid off, you will still need these people for reference, and if they remember that in your final days on the job, you blew it, then that may have an negative effect on the reference that you'll need for a new employer; and not just the next one, a good reference can be used for many new jobs to come.

If by chance you are the type of personality that just can't contain yourself; say an OCD; then I recommend that you do this: In your head, to yourself, not out loud, make a list of all the good things, and positive accomplishments that happened to you on the job. Only the positive. And if you are the type that likes to repeat something over and over to yourself, like a broken record, let it be that.

Depending on what kind of work you do, every job has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And sometime during the "perceived" finale, you can pretty much rest assured that the rumor mill will wander into the white hot spotlight. But, again, this may not necessarily apply to you. So, however difficult it may seem, when emotions are running high, try to remain as confident as possible, and be ready to do your act, when you get the queue from Bozo.