Times remain tough. And most employers would prefer not to fire people, if they can avoid it. One possible way to avoid layoffs is through furloughs  making workers take an unpaid leave of absence for a set period of time.

Every day, it seems, another company, nonprofit group, governmental agency or university announces some sort of furlough program to cut costs.

The following items can help you decide if furloughs are an option for your firm.

FURLOUGHS 101 If you need to explain to employees what a furlough is, or could use a brief primer yourself, About.com offers a quick summary.

It is written for those in their 20s who have never been employed during a recession.

A FURLOUGH BANK Unpaid time off can be a severe hardship for some employees. To lessen the burden, some companies have taken to creating what is, in essence, a “furlough bank,” which allows employees to stay fully employed if they can find someone else on staff to take their unpaid leave.