In today's economic environment, you would think that getting fired or laid off is the absolute worse thing that could happen. While this may seem true in the short run, getting fired is, by definition, definitive. Getting fired leaves you with few options and it forces you to act. By acting, you may very well improve your situation and get into a better work environment; one that is more focused on your career goals.

No, the worse thing that can happen to you as an employee is getting a demotion. Keep in mind a demotion may not be just a title thing, you could get demoted by having your responsibly assigned to someone else, your clients reassigned, receiving a lower title, a reduction in staff, lower responsibilities, or having your pay frozen. None of these actions leave you with a positive feeling about your employer or yourself. What both employers and employees fail to see is that this is like the Titanic leaking water. If may not seem like a very big event but eventually, your ship will sink. No one really recovers from a demotion by ignoring it or doing very little about it. This applies to both sides of the equation; managers should also pay attention when this happens to one of their employees. Talk to them and try to get an understanding of how they are feeling. These are your resources; you can't allow them to continue this downward spiral. Not only do you have the responsibility for allowing this happen to one of your employees, you also have the responsibility to ensure they recover. (All Managers need to re-read that last sentence).

So what should you do? First, talk to your boss or your boss's boss and get a clear picture of why it happened. You may be surprised that it had very little to do with you or your performance. If it is your fault, take inventory of your weaknesses that lead up to this event. Maybe something was happening in your personal life or some miscommunication occurred. Whatever it is you need to put a plan in place to address theses issues and move forward. Look for a lateral move or something in a growing part of the business. Maybe even, hold to your company process manual, contact someone in HR to get some guidance. Do they still offer career counseling or do I need to call the outsourced help desk? "Yes, I would like to speak to someone about career planning" "Is the PC plugged in?".