Trying to keep your career on track in tough times? A recent Sky survey claimed that in some organisations 60 per cent of staff asked for a pay rise this year. Not only is this atrocious timing, but it reinforces the idea that staff are one homogenous pack. When employers lose sight of an individual’s distinctive contribution, they unconsciously divide staff into costs and assets.

Those who react to restructuring by moving into survivor mode, simply clinging to the wreckage, are seen as very different from those making an active contribution to the organisation’s next phase.