18 February 2008

Loyalty and Work

I noticed a co-worker putting on a hat with a competitor’s logo. It made me think of loyalty in the workplace. How loyal are you to your company? If someone offered you a higher-paying job would you take it without a second look back or would you hesitate because you really like the company you work for and feel loyal to your boss?

Big Daddy is Watching

It is hard to feel loyal to a big corporation, especially if you are staff. Management and especially those in executive positions may feel more loyal to their company because they are involved in the decision making and risks involved in running it. The success or failure of the company can depend on their loyalty to the cause. I doubt that staff would feel the same way about the companies they work for, although some companies have been successful in getting their staff on board in tooting the company horn.

Upper management seldom communicate company plans down the ranks and sometimes staff find out more about their company in the newspaper than they do by working there, which undermines company loyalty among staff.

Big corporations should take the time to educate their staff on who they are and their goals. Involve staff in what they are about and you may help to make them more eager and loyal.

But I Like my Boss

I think where loyalty really comes into play for the assistant is our relationship with our boss. A good working fit is sometimes the glue that makes you stick to a company. When I enjoy working for someone, loyalty to that person and that job become even more important to me. I will think twice before considering something else if I am happy with my boss and in my job.

Loyalty to Yourself and Your Career

Sometimes we need to make a change in our job and it has nothing to do with loyalty to your company or to your boss, but what is best for you and your career. When I speak to assistants who are close to my age it seems we are from a generation that doesn’t like to move on as much as the younger generation. Some of us stay in the same job from high school until retirement. We are firmly entrenched, but that is not always the best place to be.

The younger generation seem to be career minded and tend to move and change jobs more often. I think loyalty may have a different meaning for them. They are loyal while in their job, but don’t mind moving somewhere else if it is a wise career move, if the salary and benefits are better or if there are more opportunities for advancement.

There is probably a good balance between these two perspectives. Employers like to have someone they can rely on to be there for awhile. It is expensive to train someone new and the position suffers from not having a full-time person dedicated to it. It is a good move by the employer to try and keep their staff happy. But it is also not good to stay in the same job year in and year out just for the stability. It is good for us at times to take the plunge and make a change that will benefit our careers and give us fresh challenges and new ideas on how to do things. We can get in a rut by sticking around too long.

Loyalty in a job is good and necessary, but if you have to move on you shouldn’t feel you have let your employer down when a better opportunity comes along.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually found my dream job with the company that I am currently with. I know that there might be other companies that could offer me more money, but I feel that what I ahve gone through so far in life, this is the best that I can get.

Money isn't everything and being loyal to my firm is very important. The only other thing that I would love to do more than what I am doing is blogging full time.

Thanks,

Richard Rinyai
www.theprofessionalassistant.net

Patricia Robb said...

Me too!