By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter

A global financial crisis is not just hitting the cash flow of companies but is also causing the hearts of employees to pound, reminding them of the massive layoffs that took place amid the currency crisis 11 years ago.

According to the recent survey by online job portal sit, incruit, about half of employees feel more ill at ease about job security, fearing they may lose their jobs due to the deteriorating economic situation. A total of 1,648 were surveyed, with 48.8 percent professing an added sense of fear about their work.

This fear of getting pink slips is more acutely felt among those who are not on the permanent employee payroll, with 56.4 percent of temporary workers saying so. About 47.2 percent of those with permanent jobs say they feel less secure about job security. In the 1997 financial crisis, tens of thousands of workers were forced out of their jobs after a string of bankruptcies affected companies big and small.

About 41 percent cite the poor bottom line of the companies they work for as a major reason for their uneasy feelings, while about the same number picked the worsening global situation as their reason for fear.

About 43 percent say that they have heard rumors that rationalization may be coming.

Interestingly enough, big company employees fear more about job cuts than small and medium sized company workers, the survey shows.

This job insecurity leads employees to check around for new jobs or seek opportunities to get prepared for self-employment, with 53 percent of the respondents saying they were engaged in such research. About 30 percent say that they are improving their job skills and learning others in order to improve their competitiveness.

Asked which they prefer when pressed between two choices ― losing their jobs or having their salaries cut ― about 53 percent say they will settle for salary cuts rather than pink slips. About 22 percent say that they were ready to leave their jobs.

foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr