PR Start by Nick Lucido

Nick-

I definitely appreciate this post – it's insightful. I agree very much with you that loyalty may not soemtimes be the easiest road, it is very beneficial. I have a very similar story as you do in that I have stayed in my position as an AmeriCorps member rather than take other jobs that were offered to me solely because I knew that spending 2 years as an AmeriCorps member with the same organization would exponentially increase my marketability and roledex. Halfway through my second year, my loyatly has definitely payed me back with increased responsibility, fantastic opportunities, and a lot of potential for future employment. Aside from that, my time spent here has helped me learn what kind of job I am actually interested in, which has been incredibly helpful for me.

Good points, Nick. Guess this is why, 12 years later, I'm still at BurrellesLuce!

I started working with my current employer as an intern and gradually worked my way up to my current position. This month is my 9 year anniversary and I am glad that I have stayed this long. I enjoy what I do and my 9 years have taught me the inner workings of my employer and given me many opportunities I don't think I would have elsewhere. Has it been an easy 9 years, no. But it has been worth it. I wish more millenials would read this and take it to heart.

You learn a lot and all this experience give you credit in terms of money as well as your work

Loyalty is really important, but sometimes the knockback of not getting the job you want can hurt a lot.

Loyalty is really important, but sometimes the knockback of not getting the job you want can hurt a lot.

Employee loyalty as we have come to know it is on it's last legs. Employee loyalty effect? Not! Public and private managements are into a phase of creative disassembly where reinvention and adjustments are constant. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being shed by Chevron, Sam’s Club, Wells Fargo Bank, Chrysler, HP, Starbucks etc. and the state, counties and cities. Even solid world class institutions like the University of California Berkeley under the leadership of Chancellor Birgeneau & Provost Breslauer are firing staff, faculty and part-time lecturers.
Yet many employees, professionals and faculty cling to old assumptions about one of the most critical relationship of all: the implied, unwritten contract between employer and employee.
Until recently, loyalty was the cornerstone of that relationship. Employers promised job security and a steady progress up the hierarchy in return for employees fitting in, performing in prescribed ways and sticking around. Longevity was a sign of employeer-employee relations; turnover was a sign of dysfunction. None of these assumptions apply today. Organizations can no longer guarantee employment and lifetime careers, even if they want to.
Organizations that paralyzed themselves with an attachment to “success brings success’ rather than “success brings failure’ are now forced to break the implied contract with employees – a contract nurtured by management that the future can be controlled.
Jettisoned employees are finding that the hard won knowledge, skills and capabilities earned while being loyal are no longer valuable in the employment market place.
What kind of a contract can employers and employees make with each other? The central idea is both simple and powerful: the job or position is a shared situation. Employers and employees face market and financial conditions together, and the longevity of the partnership depends on how well the for-profit or not-for-profit continues to meet the needs of customers and constituencies. Neither employer nor employee has a future obligation to the other. Organizations train people. Employees develop the kind of security they really need – skills, knowledge and capabilities that enhance future employability.
The partnership can be dissolved without either party considering the other a traitor. Classical Employee loyalty to management is dead . What is your Rx for employee loyalty reform?