One I encountered recently is finding out that the employer hasn't paid property taxes on their building.

Have you actually experienced the accounting department re-arranging their office one? That seems... weird.

@NotVonKaiser: Yes, but I have no way of knowing why they did it. It was just another "That's strange..." thing I saw before it all went south.

Being asked to re-use paper by printing on both sides.

@Mawg you should be doing this anyway. Paper use is environmentally and economically undesirable. Double sided printing cuts both costs in half, for free.

@Gusdor from what I understand, they're being told to take paper you've already printed on and putting it back in the printer so you can print things on the other side of the page

@Pimgd - and no, not that paper.

@Pimgd by the gods! That is a sinker. Turning on a PC must make the accountants cringe.

I can confirm 2 and 8 happened at a previous company a couple of months before 50% of the staff was let go. Also - quick and often change of business objectives.

I call (2) "the paperclip memo" - an instruction that all purchases (not excluding trivial costs like paperclips) be signed by management in advance.

@Gusdor: You shouldn't be printing anyway. Paper is where data goes to die.

I meant printing something on the back of a previously printed, wholly unrelated paper, what with A4 being so expensive and all (trees, whales a& ozones aside). Juts another of the many other reported penny pinching operations which are a bellwether.

@Mawg: I know what you meant. Paper production is actually fairly sustainable. Trees are farmed for it. The landfill space it takes up is not, though. My objection is that printed documents are annoying bordering on useless in today's world.

Whether or no, a sudden embracing of greenness, when coupled with the cessation of free coffee, et al, is a surefire harbinger.

Adding to this, there might be a restructure where a manager leaves, so another manager is taking on the role of two and on top of that asking you to do projects you never worked on before under tight deadlines.

I'd add to the list: Sales people leaving. No sales means no commission, no commission means sales people don't make money. And if the sales people aren't bringing in the sales then....... I've had experience with this one at a previous company. I didn't understand it at the time, but looking back it was obvious. Good answer.

Ha! I got a downvote! I just outed somebody. :)

I worked one place where I was purchasing equipment. One time I called to order something and they would no longer take a PO with net 30 terms. It turned out we had some financial trouble. My paycheck kept coming and everything else seemed fine, and the financial troubles were temporary and that place is now stronger than ever (I've moved on). Still, it does seem like a good warning sign if vendors are not extending credit like they used to.

@Gusdor to your first point, when they start following better practice is still a signal.

Pretty sure that first one is 'cause for alarm' even if it's not alarming you about a bankruptcy, it still would be cause for concern