Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles on practical, low-cost options to improve performance and profits amid tight budgets and layoffs.

With the end of 2022, a 10-year-long bull market has come to a close, and the ominous word "layoffs" is reverberating across industries. Mass layoffs have come to several sectors of the American economy as employers scramble to rebalance their costs due to losses in revenue. In October alone, Meta slashed its workforce by 13% (11,000 employees) and Twitter fired half its staff.