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  • From: Roger Austin <raustin3 AT nc.rr.com>
  • To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [internetworkers] loyalty [was: Sure is quiet, innit?]
  • Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 11:46:53 -0500

I question whether this loyalty thing really was an issue. Past "loyalty"
may have been a product of convenience of the times. Long term employees
really didn't cost the companies that much more when times were good.
Managers didn't want the pain of breaking in new employees and firing the old
ones. Trade unions in the late 1800's were formed to give labor rights; there
sure wasn't any company loyalty then. There was little loyalty shown to white
collar workers even after that.

Now, times are not good everywhere, times are bad in a number of areas. An
old manager with great and loyal employees can leave (for whatever reason.)
The new manager may not care what you did in the past. S/he will look at the
staff as human capital and decide on their future employment without
consideration to the employee's personal situation. All the good will that
you built up with those 60-80h 7-day weeks and showing up in the
hurricane/ice storm/<insert disaster here> goes poof.

I see companies as amoral. They don't have souls. Human beings are the moral
creatures in business. Loyalty is to people, not the company. If you have a
great manager who leaves, follow them or deal with the next one. The company
has no obligation to you other than pay and benefits that you have earned the
past pay period (or whatever is in your contract.)

I've got 33+ years under my belt at the same company and I have been through
about six managers and multiple upper management changes. It is just about
the same as moving to six different companies. I just didn't get new keys and
id cards.

Company loyalty isn't dead, it just never lived.




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