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There is no loyalty in business. Keep your loyalty for your family and may be friends, not for the company you work for. The company will never be loyal back. H

There is no loyalty in business. Keep your loyalty for your family and may be friends, not for the company you work for. The company will never be loyal back. Have an opportunity to make more or work more interesting? Grab it with both hands. If you are 99.99% of the workforce, you are not indispensable no matter how much you think you are.

snorkel 8y ago
So true! When you experience sudden group layoffs you realize rescuing the balance sheet matters far more than retaining good talent. I once had a boss tell me “Working here should be your career. Don’t treat this place like just another notch on your resume.” Sorry boss, but it might be just a footnote on my resume. I’m only staying here as long as the work and the pay is satisfactory otherwise I’m already interviewing someplace else. Nothing personal boss, it’s just good business.
- phakding 8y ago
  In my second job, the company was not doing well financially. They stopped 401k match, reduce salary by 5% across the board etc. I still stayed because I liked the work and the people. Then they started laying off people who were with the company for 25+ years. One of them was my good friend. An asian guy who worked day and night and treated his work like his baby. He had two kids in medical school and a house with mortgage. He also was the only bread winner in family. I could see the pain and anxiety in his eyes. He had to sell everything and move back with his family to be with his brother and extended family. That was it for me. I found a much better paying job within two weeks and never looked back. The next company I worked for laid people off on schedule even though they were growing like crazy. In my four years there they went from 2b to 6b, but laid off many employees every year or so.
  - the_new_guy_29 8y ago
    Its hard to swallow but you have to be worth the money someone is paying you. If its the opposite, you will most likely get laid off. With 25years in corp, you should have at least contacts to win contracts. If it was manager position ofcourse.
busterarm 8y ago
And I'll fly the opposing flag here. Loyalty to people is everything in business. Got a good working relationship with people? Stick to them like glue. Make your moves as a unit. Having a team of people consistently work well together is lightning in a bottle. I've built relationships with people just by doing right by them in tough situations that have lasted decades and paid fantastic dividends.
- cschep 8y ago
  I think you're agreeing. Loyalty to people is awesome. Loyalty to corporations is not.
- hef19898 8y ago
  Both is true in my opinion. Strange thing I witnessed, loyalty between corporations matter (e.g. suppliers and customers) and loyalty between people matters (just pick wisely, not everybody is worth it). Loyalty between corporations and people doesn't exist and is usually a one way street.
  - jondubois 8y ago
    Yes, only be loyal to people who demonstrate some kind of altruism. I've had a client offer me a big raise on my hourly rate once without me even asking. It's a sign of trustworthiness.
- dkrich 8y ago
  I think it's both. You won't get very far if you treat everyone at your job like an enemy. Don't burn bridges if not necessary. If you find a better job, leave graciously and do what you can to help transition. You don't know when you will need the help of somebody there in the future. Also understand the motivations of people more powerful than you. They want to succeed, get promoted and make more money. If your goals align with theirs, you're golden. If they see you as being an impedance to their goals, you will get tossed aside, no matter how much bullcrap they heap on you in orientation and all-hands meetings about caring about the employees. It's just profit and loss, raises and promotions- nothing else.
gadders 8y ago
As they say in boxing: If you want loyalty, buy a dog.
mattdmrs 8y ago
Disclaimer: I have a company and I've started a few in the past. My take is that the loyalty a company has towards a given employee cannot be the same, simply because it lacks the emotional basis that usually makes that loyalty as strong and/or as irrational. It's completely a matter of company culture which, in most cases, isn't very empathic to employees. I don't think lack of loyalty is a rule though. I think that if the company culture is set up properly, it can totally have some form of valuable, albeit different, loyalty towards its employees.
- phakding 8y ago
  Thing is though from the other side even if you have good intentions, you still have more then one people to think about. So your loyalties are split. For an employee, it's only one entity to be loyal to.
  - andrewbinstock 8y ago
    Most employees have split loyalties as well: Family members, personal projects, etc., which to varying degrees affect their loyalty to the company. It's how it should be. Neither side is free from conflicting loyalties. Nonetheless even within those constraints, both side can show loyalty if they treat each other with consideration and respect.

snorkel 8y ago

So true! When you experience sudden group layoffs you realize rescuing the balance sheet matters far more than retaining good talent. I once had a boss tell me “Working here should be your career. Don’t treat this place like just another notch on your resume.” Sorry boss, but it might be just a footnote on my resume. I’m only staying here as long as the work and the pay is satisfactory otherwise I’m already interviewing someplace else. Nothing personal boss, it’s just good business.

phakding 8y ago
In my second job, the company was not doing well financially. They stopped 401k match, reduce salary by 5% across the board etc. I still stayed because I liked the work and the people. Then they started laying off people who were with the company for 25+ years. One of them was my good friend. An asian guy who worked day and night and treated his work like his baby. He had two kids in medical school and a house with mortgage. He also was the only bread winner in family. I could see the pain and anxiety in his eyes. He had to sell everything and move back with his family to be with his brother and extended family. That was it for me. I found a much better paying job within two weeks and never looked back. The next company I worked for laid people off on schedule even though they were growing like crazy. In my four years there they went from 2b to 6b, but laid off many employees every year or so.
- the_new_guy_29 8y ago
  Its hard to swallow but you have to be worth the money someone is paying you. If its the opposite, you will most likely get laid off. With 25years in corp, you should have at least contacts to win contracts. If it was manager position ofcourse.

busterarm 8y ago

And I'll fly the opposing flag here. Loyalty to people is everything in business. Got a good working relationship with people? Stick to them like glue. Make your moves as a unit. Having a team of people consistently work well together is lightning in a bottle. I've built relationships with people just by doing right by them in tough situations that have lasted decades and paid fantastic dividends.

cschep 8y ago
I think you're agreeing. Loyalty to people is awesome. Loyalty to corporations is not.
hef19898 8y ago
Both is true in my opinion. Strange thing I witnessed, loyalty between corporations matter (e.g. suppliers and customers) and loyalty between people matters (just pick wisely, not everybody is worth it). Loyalty between corporations and people doesn't exist and is usually a one way street.
- jondubois 8y ago
  Yes, only be loyal to people who demonstrate some kind of altruism. I've had a client offer me a big raise on my hourly rate once without me even asking. It's a sign of trustworthiness.
dkrich 8y ago
I think it's both. You won't get very far if you treat everyone at your job like an enemy. Don't burn bridges if not necessary. If you find a better job, leave graciously and do what you can to help transition. You don't know when you will need the help of somebody there in the future. Also understand the motivations of people more powerful than you. They want to succeed, get promoted and make more money. If your goals align with theirs, you're golden. If they see you as being an impedance to their goals, you will get tossed aside, no matter how much bullcrap they heap on you in orientation and all-hands meetings about caring about the employees. It's just profit and loss, raises and promotions- nothing else.

gadders 8y ago

As they say in boxing: If you want loyalty, buy a dog.

mattdmrs 8y ago

Disclaimer: I have a company and I've started a few in the past. My take is that the loyalty a company has towards a given employee cannot be the same, simply because it lacks the emotional basis that usually makes that loyalty as strong and/or as irrational. It's completely a matter of company culture which, in most cases, isn't very empathic to employees. I don't think lack of loyalty is a rule though. I think that if the company culture is set up properly, it can totally have some form of valuable, albeit different, loyalty towards its employees.

phakding 8y ago
Thing is though from the other side even if you have good intentions, you still have more then one people to think about. So your loyalties are split. For an employee, it's only one entity to be loyal to.
- andrewbinstock 8y ago
  Most employees have split loyalties as well: Family members, personal projects, etc., which to varying degrees affect their loyalty to the company. It's how it should be. Neither side is free from conflicting loyalties. Nonetheless even within those constraints, both side can show loyalty if they treat each other with consideration and respect.