Whether it is a matter of pride, or gratification for the past years of hard work, small business owners use mass layoffs as a last resort in order to stay in business.  According to an article in the Wall Street Journal by Raymund Flandez, small businesses are trying to buck the layoff trend of large companies.  Small businesses rely on each of their individual  employees to keep their business running.

An alternative to layoffs that some small business owners are using, is to cut the work week from 5 days to 4 days per week.  In this way the businesses can shave costs and still retain their quality workers.  Then when the business climate turns around they will already have their dedicated employees to once again work at maximum capacity.

Some perks may have to be cut, including overtime, company cell pone usage, company auto/truck usage and medical insurance reduced.  Ask your employees how they would conserve the company's resources in order to save their jobs.  A restaurant employee suggested to purchase stainless-steal glasses.  In this way, the restaurant saved over $3000 per year in broken glasses.  This team approach  not only leads to creative solutions but also lends to employee empowerment of their own destiny.