It seems like just yesterday that business was booming.  The phone rang off the hook, and scheduling was three months out.  In the good old days, companies had to worry about having enough employees to satisfy the customers.  (Now, having enough customers to support the employees is the challenge.)  In the busy years, finding and keeping employees was hard, so employers developed incentives to keep employees content.  Companies offered bonus programs, extensive benefits and allowed employees to conduct their own business on the side at times.   

Tags: economy , human resources , management