My daughter asked my son recently to give her several of his Bakugan balls.

She didn’t have any because she either misplaced hers, or gave them away.

My son was reluctant at first to hand over the little, Japanese balls based on a cartoon series, but after much pleading on my daughter’s part and promises she’d give them back eventually, he agreed and gave her three.

Even though my daughter has since found her own Bakugan’s, she refuses to give back the ones she begged out of her brother.

This is exactly what will happen at many U.S companies.

Workers everywhere are scared of losing their jobs, and employers are feeding this fear every chance they get. Unfortunately, many employees seem far too eager to give up benefits and have their wages cut, without making any waves.

But all of you should not be too compliant, because when the gravy train returns to Corporate America you may not be able to get back on board.

According to a study by human resource consulting firm Watson Wyatt, published in the Wall Street Journal today, many of the reductions made by corporations under the guise of the recession, aren’t going any where once things turn around.

* 52 percent of the companies surveyed say they expect to have fewer employees in three to fives year.
* 20 percent expect reductions in salaries they’ve initiated to never come back.
* 46 percent have no plans to reverse increases that have been made to employees’ share of health insurance premiums.

This should be a cautionary tale for any employee out there thinking they should easily give up pay and benefits now so they can reap the rewards later.

I know what you guys are thinking, “how the heck can we fight back without risking layoff?”

First off, if enough of you question cutbacks then it will be difficult to single out just one person. And many of you are working your butts off now, doing a number on your physical and mental well-being, working crazy overtime to make up for your furlough days, thinking it will pay off in the end.

I’m here to remind you all of what the long-term payoff may and may not be.

Look, you may end up having to make concessions at work, just don’t be eagerly compliant about it. Employers may end up thinking it’s pretty easy to hit you where you live.