As layoffs spread, part-timers, flex-timers and telecommuters fear they'll be the first to go. Unfortunately, they're sometimes right.

The outcome depends on where you work. At some employers, people on reduced-hours or work-at-home setups are the first to fall under the budget ax; other employers revert to an 'all hands on deck' mode and revoke flexible arrangements. At other companies, however, oddball work setups are considered an advantage in the drive for efficiency. Either way, hanging onto a flexible work setup during a recession requires planning -- and luck.

In tough times, many employers revert to thinking critical jobs can only be done full-time, flat-out and under the boss's nose. Hilary Achauer, a San Diego marketing specialist for a nonprofit concern, sought to return to work part-time from maternity leave last year, but was offered a full-time management job instead. When she passed it up, she was diverted to a marginal job, then axed in February, while the employee who took the full-time slot was spared. 'When the going gets tough,' she says, some employers say, ''That person is only part-time, let's get rid of them.''

On the other hand, employers who are equipped to measure output against costs may see an efficient part-timer or telecommuter as an asset. A part-timer hired last fall by a retailing client of Flexperience, a Burlingame, Calif., consulting firm, thought she'd be the first to be laid off, says Sally Thornton, president of Flexperience. But she was so productive at reduced pay, Ms. Thornton says, that her employer chose to keep her over more senior full-timers. Work-at-home employees also confer savings, on real estate and office costs.

Indeed, in the current recession, more employers are using flexible setups to save money. Based on an April survey by Towers Perrin of 700 employers, 21% to 32% are either implementing or considering part-time shifts or four-day workweeks, as a cost-cutting tool. Of course, employees usually don't have a choice under these circumstances and may not welcome the change.

In general, the number of employees working flexibly at their own request usually stalls or declines in a recession, not only because employers cut back but because employees fear straying from the norm. The number of corporate telecommuters edged lower in the 2001 recession, then recovered, only to decline to 8.7 million in 2009 from 9.2 million in 2006, says Ray Boggs of IDC, a Framingham, Mass., research concern.

Some managers harbor stereotypes that people who work part-time or take leaves lack commitment. Amid rising discrimination complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency is holding a hearing Wednesday on bias against people with caregiving duties.

To improve your survival chances, ask yourself, 'What's most important to my company right now, and how do I make sure I'm contributing to that, and that my achievement is visible to my boss?' says Sarah Grayson, a partner in On-Ramps, a New York search firm.

'If you're doing something peripheral, figure out how to get involved with something that is not,' says Liz Polk Lynch, a San Francisco group manager for a software firm. At her company, 'I've never had anyone come to me and say, 'So-and-so doesn't work Fridays, so can we let them go?'' says Ms. Lynch. 'I hear, 'So-and-so's job performance seems to be slipping, or they don't seem to be working on critical projects, so can we let them go?''

Make sure your goals are clear and your output first-rate. Establish 'an ongoing conversation' with your boss, says Cali Williams Yost, a Madison, N.J., consultant. 'Sit down, talk about how it's working.'

Be willing to bend a bit -- even though it forces work-life sacrifices. Part-timer Anne Abreu, a San Mateo, Calif., insurance specialist, knows her schedule puts her 'under the spotlight,' she says. So she is often at the office on her day off to work or attend meetings. In a nontraditional setup, she says, 'you need to be realistic, be flexible and deliver results.'

隨著裁員風潮的蔓延，兼職者、享受彈性工作制的員工、以及電子通勤族擔心自己會是首先被裁掉的。有時候還真不幸被他們言中了。

這要取決于你在哪家公司上班。預算緊張時，有些雇主會首先考慮裁減那些非全職或是在家工作的員工。有些雇主則會回歸“所有人都來公司全職上班”的模式，取消彈性工作制。不過，也有些公司把非常規(guī)工作制視為提高效率的一種優(yōu)勢。無論怎樣，在衰退期間保持彈性工作制都需要規(guī)劃，還有運氣。

困難時期，很多雇主會回到老的想法上，認為重要的工作只有全職、全力以赴、在老板眼皮底下才能完成。希拉里•阿奇沃(Hilary Achauer)是圣地亞哥一家非營利機構的營銷專家。她去年休完產假后曾想回公司做兼職工作，不過老板卻要給她一個全職的管理職位。當她婉拒后，就被發(fā)配到一個無關緊要的工作崗位上，之后在2月份被裁員了，而接受了那份全職工作的員工則幸免被裁員的厄運。她說，當形勢困難時，有些雇主會說，“那個人只是個兼職，讓我們把他裁掉吧”。

另一方面，那些考慮了產出成本比的雇主則可能看到一個高效率的兼職者或是電子通勤族是筆財富。加州咨詢公司Flexperience的總裁薩利•桑頓(Sally Thornton)說，該公司的一個零售客戶去年秋天雇了一個兼職者，這個人以為自己會是第一個被裁掉的人。桑頓說，但是這名員工薪水低、效率高，于是她的雇主決定把她留下來，而把更資深的全職員工裁掉了。在家工作的員工還能為公司省錢，比如在房地產和辦公成本上。

的確，在當前這場衰退中，有更多的雇主開始利用彈性工作制來省錢。根據Towers Perrin今年4月份對700家雇主進行的調查，其中有21%-32%的雇主正在實施或考慮實施兼職倒班制或是4天工作制，把這作為一項削減成本的措施。當然，在這種情況下，員工通常沒有選擇，他們或許并不喜歡這樣的改變。

總體來講，在衰退時期，自己要求實行彈性工作制的員工數量通常會不變或是減少，原因不只是雇主在縮減開支，還因為員工擔心會偏離了常規(guī)。馬薩諸塞州大型研究機構國際數據公司(IDC)的雷•伯格斯(Ray Boggs)說，2001年衰退期間，企業(yè)的電子通勤族數量小幅下降，之后回升，不過2009年又從2006年的920萬人減少至870萬人。

一些管理人士有這樣的成見，他們認為兼職者或是在家工作的員工缺少承諾。平等就業(yè)機會委員會(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)收到的歧視投訴越來越多，該機構最近舉行了聽證會，內容是關于對護理人員的歧視。

紐約調查公司On-Ramps的薩拉•格里森(Sarah Grayson)說，為了提高你的生存幾率，自問一下：目前對你的公司來說什么是最重要的？你如何確保為此貢獻力量？如何確保你的成就被老板看到了？

舊金山某軟件公司的團隊經理莉斯•林奇(Liz Polk Lynch)說，如果你做的事無關緊要，想辦法參與比較重要的事。她說，在我的公司里，從來沒人對我說，“誰誰周五不工作，能不能讓他們先走”；我聽到的是，“誰誰的工作表現似乎在下降，或他們似乎沒有在做重要的項目，能不能把他們打發(fā)了”？

確保你的目標明確、表現一流。新澤西州顧問卡利•約斯特(Cali Williams Yost)說，經常和你的老板溝通，坐下來，談談做得怎么樣了。

另外，要做出適度的讓步，即便這意味著要在工作生活之間作出一些犧牲。加州兼職保險專家安妮•阿布瑞尤(Anne Abreu)說，她明白她的工作時間是眾人關注的焦點。所以她常常在該休假的時候呆在辦公室工作或是參加會議。她說，在一種非常規(guī)的情況下，你需要現實一點兒、靈活一點兒、把工作做好。