Managers demand employee take on second job for $2 extra an hour, claim she'll be fired if she refuses: 'Do I have a leg to stand on?'

There is nothing that most companies love more than a cost-cutting exercise.

After all, the whole increasing profit strategy is difficult to get right, requiring real brainpower to make it work. As if that wasn't enough, it is also subject to the fickle forces of the market. It is much simpler and more predictable to look at the existing budget and see what can be squeezed for a few extra pennies, and if that affects employee satisfaction, then that is just a darn shame.

A decrease in spending money does not always have to be done in a way that has a large negative impact on those who work for the company. That being said, it usually means that someone, somewhere, is going to suffer for it, and most upper management would rather put that burden on their employees rather than themselves. Most of the time, it is the logic behind every bonus that seems to magically disappear, and every round of layoffs that those above a certain level appear to be magically immune to. As well as this, it usually means more work for those workers who stick it out. It is one of the more stressful times in an individual's career.