Delaying honeymoon one option for new employee

J.T.: Most managers are understanding about weddings, so I doubt you’ll have a problem. Meet with your boss to explain your goal, and ask if you could work overtime to save up hours, or if you could take unpaid days. The key is that you’re taking responsibility for your absence. Now, if your boss doesn’t budge, I would take a shorter honeymoon; it’s not like it’s the last vacation you’ll ever take together. So, just shorten the duration and plan another great destination for the future. In some ways, that could be better; it will be easier to go back to work if you’re able to look forward to your next vacation.

DALE: That is startlingly wise. Here I thought we’d end up debating whether it was easier to find a good job or a good husband, but no, you’ve raised a more meaningful point. We live in a time of wonderful weddings and miserable marriages. What if our culture put the effort and money currently devoted to weddings into making successful marriages?

Getting back to your question, Julie: J.T. has shaken me out of my knee-jerk reaction that the honeymoon is sacred. I’m now hoping that you’ll rethink your plan. When my wife and I got married, we were living in Atlanta, and our first honeymoon was a long weekend at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. (Great, just great.) Then, months later, we had a more traditional honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. It didn’t seem ideal at the time, but maybe it was. Maybe it was.

J.T.: I think so. There’s enough pressure on putting together a perfect wedding without trying to also plan a perfect two-week vacation. Why not save some excitement while you save up money and vacation time?

Dear J.T. & Dale: Can an employer who gave you a letter about a temporary layoff due to a slowdown then call you back but request a salary cut? Can they do this even though I save them thousands of dollars because they do not give me medical insurance? — Antonio

DALE: Oh, yes they can. It’s the Big Grind out there — retailers are grinding down prices from manufacturers, who grind on suppliers, who grind down employees. The reason the economy has been so slow to rise is the unrelenting downward pressure. The upshot is, instead of employees looking forward to annual cost-of-living increases, they can look forward to saving a nickel on toothpaste and a dime on disposable diapers.

J.T.: Said another way, you are an at-will employee, which means the employer can let you go at any time. It also means that if they hire again, they can set the new pay wherever they want and see if you accept. While you are not required to take the job, I would suggest doing so if you aren’t currently employed. Later, once you have the job, you can ramp up your job search for a better-paying position. Why go back only to leave? It’s a sad fact that many employers discriminate against the unemployed. So, having a job — even getting hired back at a lower rate — shows that your employer values you enough to want you to return. You can leverage that information with a potential new employer to show your worth.

DALE: As for insurance, we are moving to a time when it will no longer be a typical job benefit. It’s not an employer benefit in most other countries, and it soon won’t be here. But I like how you’re thinking about how you saved your employer money. It’s smart to be a good deal. Going forward, make it part of your job mind-set to find ways to make or save the company money, and you’ll put yourself in a position to negotiate better pay and benefits.