But employees at stodgy blue-chip companies aren’t the only ones who are being forced to accept fewer benefits. At Gawker Media -- the standard-bearer for online publications, with 12 websites (including its eponymous flagship) and more than 20 million monthly readers  -- the page-view bonus for contributors has been suspended for at least 1 quarter. Some of this loss will be compensated by a greater monthly base pay.

But traffic has been Gawker’s ultimate currency, and contributors are being stripped of that incentive. Nick Denton, Gawker Media’s founder and publisher, wrote to staff:

We never used to talk about the business side of the operation. Traffic was the only concern; my belief was that juicy news would draw the readers and the advertising would take care of itself. We were patient; even if it took four years for a site to develop the audience that finally registered with advertisers, we had the time. No longer.

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Edward Navis, a human-resources consultant, told me that layoffs cost more money than they save. He said the trick is finding small ways to save money, and putting enough together to add up to larger expenses. He mentioned some examples: Developing a network of candidates for future positions to save on recruitment costs; finding more affordable health-insurance options; putting some benefits on hold, like tuition assistance; and focusing on long-lasting emotional rewards, instead of financial ones.

This would seem to benefit companies -- unlike GM -- whose business models are safe. Or small- to mid-sized companies that know their employees and their concerns.

Like online start-up Klickable TV, which creates interactive online video. Klickable’s Flash-based program has the chance to make inroads in online video advertising, content production and e-commerce. Roger Wu told me that he, along with his other co-founder, are conserving cash by foregoing salary and “figuring out how to live off of savings and ramen.”

However, Wu said morale at the start-up, with its staff of 3 and one contractor, is great. “From a macroeconomic perspective, the only thing that’s going to grow GDP is technology and entrepreneurship,” he wrote in an email.

Occupational pain has unavoidably spread to cities and states. As in the private sector, governments are being pressed to figure out how to save money, but they face more blowback from the public. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing that “all state employees be furloughed one day each month for the next year and a half, for a total of 19 days. This will result in a pay cut of about 5%.” The governor’s proposal also recommends eliminating 2 paid holidays and scrapping time-and-a-half pay to employees working on holidays. The governor’s office estimates that this will save $2.4 billion over 2 years.

And here in New York, the epicenter of the financial crisis, the pain is even more acute. To deal with an anticipated $4 billion budget shortfall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has asked all city agencies to cut spending by 2.5% this fiscal year, which ends next June, and cut another 5% the following year. Bloomberg’s plan even calls to shorten the time firefighter trainees spend at the academy and to cut back on nighttime operations at several firehouses.

Bloomberg’s statements, given his crossover appeal in business and government, echo the current economic malaise: “We don't know just how deep this recession is going to go - or for how long.”