Loyalty is for Dogs not Employees

These days there simply aren’t many reasons to remain loyal to a company. In fact, the term “company loyalty” is perceived negatively not only by fellow members of my generation but by employers as well. Having worked for the same company for a number of years, I know all too well how ‘loyal’ employees can become dinosaurs of the working world, failing to stay up-to-date in technologies and thus losing all marketable skills. Working within the same organization employees tend to perform similar tasks each and every day, eventually they lose touch with the advancement of both business and technology.

These days with frequent layoffs and no pensions employees have few reasons to remain loyal to an employer. Although I imagine that very few employees have ever been loyal for loyalty’s sake. The term loyalty brings to mind images of nationalism, patriotism, and allegiance, and we would be kidding ourselves if we didn’t recognize that life-long employees remain committed to their companies primarily for the pensions and benefits.

So if loyalty is considered a negative attribute of an employee, when should a ‘loyal’ employee consider leaving his or her job? Also what factors are worth staying for? Should a pension plan be taken into consideration? What about medical benefits after age 55? What other factors should be considered in staying or leaving? How large a role should personal fulfillment play? If you’ve recently switched employers are you happier in your new job or did you switch solely for the financial benefits? What was the largest deciding factor in your decision to change?

3 thoughts on “Loyalty is for Dogs not Employees”

  1. I don’t consider myself particulary loyal to my company, but I really enjoy working for my boss, and if my boss ever retired, went to another company, or had a falling out with me, I would leave.

    I am loyal to people, not some soulless company.

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  2. I’m a loyal person, sometimes to a fault. Unfortunately, I’m only now seeing how staying at the same company for nine years is hurting me (I’m now sick of my job). I advise any young person I know to change jobs more frequently than I did.

    I will say in regards to my job, I have a great boss, so that makes me fear moving to a new job with a non-great boss. And part of my “loyalty” is likely fear of change.

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  3. I think fear of change is a huge reason employees stay with their current employers. I have great advice for that particular issue… take a few hours off and interview elsewhere. Even if you don’t hope to leave your job anytime in the near future, interviewing elsewhere will allow you to discover new opportunities, and give you the opportunity to look for a job before you need one. Plus, it never hurts to polish up on your interview skills.

    Part of the fear of change is also the fear of the unknown. Knowing that you have the skills to find a job elsewhere might just convince you to move on.

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