My connection to the grapevine is strong at work. My company is going to start doing “voluntary furloughs” in the next pay period. Except, management has no idea what “furlough” actually means.

What they mean is: You defer your salary per a written agreement until the “current financial difficulties” have passed and you keep working full time. Now, as much as I enjoy the tasks that I do at work and I like the people I work with, my relationship with my employer is basically transactional: I need something (money) and they need something (the skills I have + the time of the practitioner of those skills).

So why does it feel so scary, the idea that the only reasonable response to this unreasonable request (seriously, is Visa going to “defer” charging me interest because I’m deferring salary?) is “You don’t pay me; I don’t work.” ?