One of the ways in which some companies have tried to keep the prices of their products down is by changing the packaging. It used to be that you would buy a half gallon of ice cream or laundry detergent, but now you'll find that often you are getting slightly less for the same price you used to pay. For the former that might be a nice way of lowering your portions but for the latter that's just annoying. I find that to be a subtle point of deception by some companies, and it likely will continue into future.

For those of us that work for a company, we might find a similar erosion in an area that we have come to expect a certain level of benefit. A recent survey from the Society for Human Resource Management found that many companies were lowering the level of benefits that they offer to workers. The costs of those benefits have been rising, and as companies try to keep a certain level of profitability, it seems workers are feeling some of the effects.

Read the rest of "Benefits" at SQLServerCentral.