Staying Loyal to Your Company

From almost the beginning of the U.S. Industrial Revolution to about the 1970s, it was quite common for employees to remain with one company for 20, 30, 40 years or even more. Today that is a very rare phenomenon. Why is that? Well, there are several reasons.

First, we have become a very mobile society; it is much easier for people to move and to change companies. Further, the proliferation of mergers and downsizing has resulted in the forced work relocation of many employees. Of course, this is exacerbated in the current economic crisis, with the loss of many tens of thousands of jobs. There is, however, another significant factor to consider. Younger generations of workers, especially after the baby boomers, have for the most part changed their concept of loyalty at work. Whereas loyalty used to focus on the company itself, now it focuses much more on the immediate supervisor and on the job itself. It is normally not difficult to change companies, because that is not where the loyalty is.

Studies have proven that the number one reason why employees leave a company is their supervisor in particular and leadership in general. In other words, the majority of employees today do not quit their companies; they quit their bosses.

So, when management appeals to loyalty for the company, they are usually not understanding the psyche and motivation of their employees. The key to retention of good employees is a job that is fulfilling and leadership that is servant oriented rather than power oriented. When these things are in place, loyalty to the company will grow.