Think twice before you accept a pay cut at your current job. The noble gesture could affect a lot more than the size of your next paycheck.

Consider Acxiom. The database-management company in Little Rock, Ark., thrice landed on Fortune magazine's annual tally of America's 100 best workplaces. It earned more kudos last spring for averting layoffs through extensive mandatory and voluntary pay cuts in exchange for stock options. But in late June, the worsening economy forced Acxiom to cut about 400 jobs. Laid-off staffers received severance and compensation for unused vacation and sick leave based on their shrunken salaries.

Many affected pay-cut volunteers felt betrayed. During a support-group meeting at a nearby church, about 15 axed employees realized that all but one had voluntarily slashed their pay as much as 15% -- on top of the 5% required. "We were all very bitter about the slimmed severance," recalls Stephen Cohen, a 49-year-old former performance analyst who took an additional 5% cut. "If someone had been there from Acxiom, they would not have left alive."

It's standard practice at Acxiom -- and most other companies -- to calculate severance "based on the pay level on the day an associate leaves the company," contends Acxiom spokesman Dale Ingram. "When you add up all of the elements of the severance package, it was very fair."

In any case, the Acxiom experience highlights the importance of asking tough questions before you work for less. Consider posing these queries:

• What tradeoffs can I obtain in exchange for a lower salary?

Pivotal players will command personalized perks. You might propose alternate Friday afternoons off, telling your boss "this is what I need to work here with all my heart," says Jack Chapman, a salary coach in Wilmette, Ill.

• How long will my pay cut last?

Seek a commitment that your pay will return to normal at a specified time, Mr. Chapman advises. But good intentions can fall short. Agilent Technologies adopted an across-the-board pay cut of 10% last May that was to persist until at least July 31. "I really tried to avoid layoffs," explains Ned Barnholt, CEO of the Palo Alto, Calif., maker of test and measurement equipment. Nevertheless, Agilent subsequently decided to eliminate 8,000 jobs.

The compensation cut ended Nov. 1 for everyone except roughly 200 top executives and officers. On Dec. 1, Agilent again temporarily reduced pay 10% for 1,800 senior managers. Starting Feb. 1, the rest of the company's white-collar work force faces a 5% temporary pay cut, and hourly workers must work one unpaid day a month. No one knows when the latest rollbacks will end.

• How will lowered salaries affect raises and bonuses?

Corporate recruiter Christy Leak raised that question before she voluntarily swapped 10% of her salary for extra options last May at DiamondCluster International, a Chicago technology consulting firm. She and her colleagues won assurances that future increases would be based on old salary levels once better times returned.

Ms. Leak and her husband decided they could live on less money even though they had recently bought their first home. But she halted paycheck deductions for the employee stock-purchase plan.

A prudent move. Last summer, DiamondCluster eliminated about 24 positions, mandated the pay decrease for anyone earning more than $50,000 a year and furloughed about 200 staffers for as many as six months. Furloughed employees were to receive 35% of their salary in cash and 35% in restricted shares upon their return. Ms. Leak was furloughed, then lost her job during a layoff last fall.

• What's the financial impact of reduced pay if I lose my job?

"We didn't address severance at the time of the pay-cut program because we didn't anticipate layoffs," says Jeff Standridge, an Acxiom human-resources executive. But about 26% of the employees laid off in June had forsaken more pay than required to get more options; they kept half of those extra options until year-end. On average, these individuals retained 314 options, which they could have exercised for a potential net gain of $1,484 on Dec. 21, when Acxiom shares closed at $18.05. That would have more than offset their $239 average reduction in severance, Mr. Ingram maintains. Like Acxiom, Agilent and DiamondCluster didn't broadly disclose their possible severance plans when salaries fell. But they did base severance on original pay levels.

Redback Networks was even more generous. The San Jose, Calif., provider of broadband and optical-networking equipment offered U.S. staffers discounted options last August if they took voluntary pay cuts of 10% to 25%. It promised to refund relinquished cash to anyone laid off before those options vest next August. Redback eliminated 200 jobs last October -- and fulfilled its payback pledge.

And don't forget about your next job. Whether reduced pay crimps your compensation somewhere else may depend on your ability to sell "the value of what you do,'' says Bill Coleman of pay-data Web site Salary.com.