Loyalty

I’ve just attended a training session with couple of great people who’d been working for a big company for a long time (it was kind of fun to point out that I was still in grade school when they got hired). Anyway, as we were discussing topics, such as how to discover our core values, what the essential skills of our jobs are, and the importance of being on the same page with our managers, the word “loyalty” came up.
What does it mean to be loyal to the company you work for? If I work for someone, they expect me to give my best, be innovative, grow my potential and help them grow their business. We all agree on that. Then I said that I see my work for anyone as a mutual deal. I’ll give you (the company) all my best while you support me and reward me appropriately. And when the time comes when either the company or I make a decision to part, then that’s OK. The long term employees didn’t see it the same way. They said that if they’d dedicated years to be loyal to the company, it should be nice to them. They’ve given the company decades of their lives and it would be unfair if the company let them go, leaving them vulnerable in the wild world.

Does it mean I’m not loyal if I see my deal with the company as something that can change at any time? I am loyal to whoever I work with now or will be working with in the future. That’s how I see it. I’m a capable person who has a deal that benefits both the company and me right now. And that can change any time. I may decide to go somewhere else and the company may decide it doesn’t need me anymore.

And when we part, I’ll take all my learning, experience, successes, and people I got to meet along the way with me to new adventures. No hard feelings. As far as I’m concerned, the company doesn’t owe me a thing. And if you feel otherwise, you’re probably sacrificing too much for a false sense of security. I understand; it may feel scary imagining yourself looking for a job in your late 50s. But you know what? Just believe in yourself. You’ve been helpful to these guys for all these years. You are good. Period.