Corporate Loyalty?

[azazyel]

I was reading a thread on Fark.com about outsourcing (the usual flamewar) and it got me to thinking about corporate loyalty. Is there such a thing anymore? I was raised to think that if you work hard and show results that your company would take care of you and help you to advance. Does anyone think this is true in today's world or was it ever true to begin with? I know that if I was found not to be profitable I would be canned in a heartbeat. Yet I still get the feeling that this company wants me to remain loyal to them.

Thoughts?

 

[notfred]

Hahaha, yeah right.

 

[StageLeft]

It's less true. It has some merit in limited cases. The smaller the company the more likely it will work, since you have more common relationships with people, but ultimately loyalty in the corporate world will see you wasting time imo.

 

[OutHouse]

Im loyal to a point. Its a job not a life.

 

[Ranger X]

Only fools have corporate loyalty. The corporation that you work for will dump you in a second when the economy goes sour.

 

[Gravity]

I was loyal. Then I began to calculate what my retirement might be if I stuck with that company for 30 years. AFter their generous 2% contribution, I would be taking home poverty wages. Now I'm earning 30.8% per year (employer and employee contributions) and will be eligible to retire at 85% of my highest 3 years in less than 2 decades.

There are companies that will take care of you, carefully decide who you invest YOUR time and energy into.

 

[cressida]

Originally posted by: Ranger X
Only fools have corporate loyalty. The corporation that you work for will dump you in a second when the economy goes sour.

he** yes!

 

[azazyel]

Now, I am kind of lucky in which my company does have some great benefits but I can't stand it when HR wants us to act like a family. We have stupid corporate events which might be voluntary but feel mandatory. This type of thing really urks me. Just because they sign my paycheck, it doesn't give them the right to try to force me to go to stupid company events.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
It's less true. It has some merit in limited cases. The smaller the company the more likely it will work, since you have more common relationships with people, but ultimately loyalty in the corporate world will see you wasting time imo.

i used to work for a company with less than 10 people and we knew he'd dump our asses the second he'd need to cut anything. wound up leaving before he tried to fire me for no reason.

companies don't look out for you as much anymore, but at their bottom line.

 

[Beattie]

I have no loyalty to my employer. I constantly look for my next job as I work somewhere. I am on my 3rd job since I graduated last May. I just figure that as soon as I simply accept where I am and stop looking, that's like giving up.

On the other hand, I have a friend who got a job and plans on staying there forever. It's kind of a low paying job, but he's one of the few people there at his level with a college degree, so he will probably get promoted to some type of management sooner or later.

 

[GasX]

Your "job" is not to put so much time into a company that they "owe" you security.

One should always strive to make oneself utterly indespensible while maximizing the long term career development potential of every position you are in. If you company has layoffs you will survive. If your company goes south, you will be the first one hired by someone else...

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

With small companies? Absolutly. The company I work for is like family to me. I get paid way less (though still reasonable) than I could be making at another place, but I like the company, I look forward to going to work, and they make accomodations for me. You cannot put a price on mental and emotional well-being.

 

[azazyel]

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Your "job" is not to put so much time into a company that they "owe" you security.

One should always strive to make oneself utterly indespensible while maximizing the long term career development potential of every position you are in. If you company has layoffs you will survive. If your company goes south, you will be the first one hired by someone else...

Very true, I have been passed over during a few mass layoffs. But you do have to remember that if you are irreplaceable how are you going to get promoted?

 

[GasX]

Originally posted by: azazyel

Originally posted by: Mwilding
Your "job" is not to put so much time into a company that they "owe" you security.

One should always strive to make oneself utterly indespensible while maximizing the long term career development potential of every position you are in. If you company has layoffs you will survive. If your company goes south, you will be the first one hired by someone else...

Very true, I have been passed over during a few mass layoffs. But you do have to remember that if you are irreplaceable how are you going to get promoted?

that is a whole challenge in itself - succesion planning

 

[azazyel]

Yeah, it's sad though that a lot of my friends don't usually stay at a job for more than a year before they find the bigger better deal. I sometimes wish I could be that proactive but it seems rather risky in the long run. I have been with my company for almost six years (4 different jobs in company) and I am just know ready to move on. I hope the move will be in company but I have to be prepared to leave if that doesn't happen.

 

[Mill]

I don't think it really exists, but for the cases in which it does it is naivety. Of course I'm talking about companies that are run like a typical American Capitalistic company. You want to be indispensable, but you don't want to suck them off every chance you get. Loyalty should be a homeostatic balance. Both have to participate for it to be worthwhile, and since most corporations don't give a sh!t about workers...

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I feel in todays world, company loyalty is way over rated due to one fact. Most people get promotions and raises based on the amount of ass they kiss, not the quality of their work. When i was laid off at my last job, everyone that was not laid off were people that kissed ass, and didn't go against the flow to get things changed for the better. They were happy to be lap dogs and wouldn't question anything, even if it meant wasting time and money for the company. And that's what management likes nowadays, they don't want things to change no matter how good it will be for the company, because they will have to do a little more work up front to save them time in the future.

 

[PingSpike]

Corporate loyalty is just something companies made up to try and keep you from quiting when they still want you around. 50 years ago a company would take care of you and you could stay there until you retired...today though, consider yourself a private contractor that happens to have an office. Companies will cut you loose as soon as they can find and Indian or a robot to do your job, or they can maximize profits by firing you.

Screw corporate loyalty. Only look out for yourself, and always be looking for a better job.

 

[NuclearNed]

I think a person should be loyal in the short term, but open-minded to long term opportunities. If I worked at a company a couple months and then left for a higher paycheck somewhere else, I would probably feel like I had screwed the company over without benefitting them much. But having worked my current job for 4+ years, I feel like I have put in my time and can look around if I want.

 

[Michael]

It exists but it is a two way street.

Since customers do not guarantee that the company will exist, the company cannot guarantee jobs.

Good companies are loyal to their employees in that they provide opportunities for training and advancement.

Michael

 

[K1052]

I am loyal to the company I work for. It is in my best intrest to be loyal.

<--Works at family owned company.

 

[CanOWorms]

I've heard of high-level researchers that are very loyal to their companies, but they're in prestigious positions at prestigious research divisions of companies. They're not exactly "grunt" llevel workers.