There's something in the air ... again

These days, everyone in my professional life is looking for ways to tighten their belts. It's been my experience that no good ever comes of this.

My client has been reviewing their 2013 expenses and is not happy with how much they spent on/with us. I don't know that they are looking at the work we produce, per se. What I have heard about is travel expenses. Now when I visit them, I take Amtrak -- which is way cheaper than gas and mileage reimbursed to those who drive -- and I haven't stayed overnight down there in years. But we did have a team onsite down there, 4 days/week, for more than a year and I know the bills they ran up were astronomical. Never mind that the client requested the team work from their offices. Now that the bills are due, they're suffering from buyer's remorse.

Our head of account services came by and asked how long everyone on our little team has been working on this account, and in financial services in general. He explained that he thought now would be a good time to remind our client who much value they get for their buck when they work with us.

Then, on our side of the equation … We used to have beer and wine and popcorn every Friday. This year will have beer, wine, pretzels and vodka once a month. Management tells us it's better to have good booze less often.

There are metal bowls on each of the long tables in our lounge area. Before Christmas they were filled with chips and candy. In 2014, they're empty. (I wish someone would put them away.)

It was in mid-February last year that we had a round of layoffs.

I am scared. Again.