With layoff headlines abounding, it's no wonder workers feel squeamish. And they're increasingly willing to vote with their feet in order to find a job where they feel secure.

According to new research from Monster, 54% of the more than 1,000 U.S. workers surveyed would take a pay cut at a different employer in exchange for more stability. And many are open to a substantial cut: Twenty-eight percent would accept a reduction of at least 5%, while 11% would be OK with a more than 10% cut.

And workers are willing to trade more than just money for job security. More than one-quarter would take reduced bonuses and workplace perks or benefits, with slightly fewer being OK with less workplace flexibility. Meanwhile, about 17% would trade off for higher health insurance costs.

Ultimately, more than 60% said they would be willing to make at least one of these concessions for greater stability.

"Workers are not saying pay, benefits, flexibility or workplace perks no longer matter. They are saying stability has become valuable enough to compete with those priorities," Monster career expert Vicki Salemi wrote in a blog on the research.

Driving trust in an uncertain environment

Ultimately, job security comes down to trust, Salemi writes. Employees need to know where the company and their respective team are headed, as well as the expectations for their own performance and what career paths could await them in the organization.

Even if employees aren't actively searching for a new job, without a deep commitment to trust, many employees may become disengaged and not committed to the organization for the long term.

Salemi identifies five actions HR can take to boost trust:

• Be transparent about the company's priorities: Employees want to have access to "clear communication" about the organization's agenda and how their work connects to it.
• Clarify role expectations: "Workers may feel more secure when they understand what success looks like," Salemi says, which extends to performance evaluation and how an employee's work supports business needs.

Read the full article here.