Not all companies in financial trouble are laying off employees. Many have taken the alternative route of cutting hours for current employees: they’re turning their full-time employees into part-time employees to cut costs. It works, too. Not only do employers have to pay less in the way of hourly wages when employees are working fewer hours, but they can also cut benefits packages if an employee drops to part-time status.

But if you’re one of those employees, hearing that you’ll be going to part-time status is not good news. You may not be in a position to immediately take a new job — there are still jobs out there, but you may not be able to pick up the right job immediately. You’ll have some time on your hands, though, and once you’ve updated your resume, you can put that time to good use.

1. Pick up freelance work in your field. Many employers are turning to freelancers to cover holes left in their companies by lay-offs. Because freelancers aren’t full-time employees, they’re cheaper — which you can use to your advantage to bring in some extra income.
2. Teach a class. Plenty of people are trying to avoid the recession by going back to school. That means that many schools need instructors in specialized fields.
3. Sell something on eBay. If you’ve been intending to eliminate some clutter from your home, you may just have the time to do it. No point throwing away anything you could make money on, though: put it up for sale and see what you can get. Craigslist, eBay, even a garage sale can be a good approach.
4. Take on another part-time job. Two part-time jobs don’t always equal a full-time job, but grabbing a second one can make your money go farther. Even if you’re just taking part in medical testing, you can take advantage of other job opportunities out there.
5. Start your own business. Plenty of solid businesses grew out of the Great Depression: when people didn’t have any work, they worked for themselves. You can do the same — grow freelancing into a full-time career, develop a business idea — whatever you choose. The important thing is to start putting in some sweat equity, even if you aren’t ready to put in cash.

Just because you are working fewer hours at your day job doesn’t mean that you’re in a bind. As long as you look at it as an opportunity, you can still find ways to boost your income. And if you’re concerned about stability or benefits, you still have the option of finding a new full-time job. Working a part-time job even makes it possible to easily keep working while on a job hunt — no trying to schedule interviews during your lunch hour — and most employers will be understanding about your search for a new job if they’ve just cut your hours. If you’re truly crucial to the business, they may be unhappy to see you go but they also may be willing to offer you incentive to stay: from maintaining your benefits package to bringing you back up to full-time status, if your employer really doesn’t want you go, they’ll take steps to keep you.

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