If today's economy does slide into a recession, then a generation weaned on an economic boom may be in for a rude shock.
Most recessions last only a year or two before good times return.
But if your organization mistreats its IT professionals during a recession, they will get their revenge when the job market improves. Conversely, if they realize that you've protected them from layoffs, downsizing, salary freezes and other indignities, most of them will reward you with greater loyalty than you might have expected. Unfortunately, senior management edicts can sometimes be inconsistent and demoralizing, and if employees are already cutting back on their own personal spending, then corporate penny-pinching can be even more annoying. Imagine a company that announces a salary freeze, and imagine the same company putting additional pressure on its IT project managers to finish their development projects as quickly as possible, in order to realize the economic benefits quicker. All this is understandable, but it typically translates into additional overtime for programmers.