The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my life"

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Betsy Og

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you'll often see people saying "I gave my life to that company and now I'm being let go", as if for some charitable or selfless reason they kissed their wife and kids goodbye and entered the gates never to return.

Now I dont blame people for being upset in such situations, but do they have a case?, or could you say werent you lucky you got so long out of it and raised your family through it, that you werent bounced around from job to job and town to town or country to country. Would they have stayed with that employer if a better or more convenient offer came along??, I wouldnt blame them if they decided to take the new offer.

I think that its naieve to expect employees to be loyal or vice versa. The minute theres a compelling reason for either to change then its pretty much going to happen. Maybe in small owner managed places the inevitable is delayed or someone is kept on to retirement even though it didnt make great sense, but in the wider scheme of things wouldnt you be foolish to not be thinking about number 1 because any loyalty points you think you might be clocking up wont ultimately make any great difference.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

I agree that 'loyalty' is a mis-used term for paid employment. When you're being paid to do something, loyalty doesn't arise.

If you want to receive loyalty, get a dog ;) !
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

This has been a big debating point in our house. My OH lost his business 2 years ago - downturn, insolvency, the whole lot. And he got so much grief from employees - almost as if he should have continued to pump personal money into an insolvent business to keep the employees in work.

I'm a card carrying member of the old school of you work, you get paid. That's the deal. That's your loyalty card. You're an employee and you want to dictate terms to your employer? - then why don't you take all of the risks and carry the can yourself.

mf
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

mf1 said:
i'm a card carrying member of the old school of you work, you get paid. That's the deal. That's your loyalty card. You're an employee and you want to dictate terms to your employer? - then why don't you take all of the risks and carry the can yourself.

Mf
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+1
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

During a period of ill health I worked a total of six months part-time over an 18 month period. The rules said that I should receive six months full pay and six months half pay: my employers continously sent me reports to read and comment on during the 18 month period and said that as I was providing a service I would receive full pay for the whole of the 18 month period.

I doubt that many employers would do the same.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

I agree that loyalty doesn't come into it. However, companies are the first to play that ambiguous game where they pretend to be your best pal so that they can get you working extra hours etc. The fuzzy feeling suddenly disappears when they no longer need you.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

Some companies get a lot from their employees in the busy times by building on this loyalty. They try to make the workforce feel like a family and get people to place work high on their list of priorities. They motivate people to think that they are willingly working for a higher motive than money.

Then people have a funny view of the old employer- employee relations. Its a form of manipluation.

I agree that you get paid to do a job and hard luck if its over. But if you feel that you have been doing more than that for reasons of loyalty then you might feel upset.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

I think it sits nicely beside the employer's line " I give a job to x amount of people ", as if he or she is employing them for some altruistic reason.

If an employee chooses to stay with one employer for a long time, they do so because it suits them, not because of "loyalty". Similarly, the employer needs his staff because he cannot run his business without them.

"Loyalty" and giving someone a "living" are misused words in this context.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

d2x2 said:
I agree that loyalty doesn't come into it. However, companies are the first to play that ambiguous game where they pretend to be your best pal so that they can get you working extra hours etc. The fuzzy feeling suddenly disappears when they no longer need you.
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I agree. Many people come to work that bit earlier or work through their lunch hour or work the bank holiday Monday when no one else will. People sacrifice the few days after Christmas so the countryfolk can have a longer break. There are lots of small things that employees give to their employer.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

Loyalty has to work both ways but in the end it's both parties doing what they consider to be in their own best long term interest. If an employee gets full pay when out sick when they are not contractually entitled to it then it is reasonable that the employer can expect them to do things that are outside their contract (like working overtime etc). It's give and take that should balance out in the long run (if not then one party is exploiting the other).
Of course keeping the business viable will take precedence but next month’s profit shouldn't.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

BillK said:
During a period of ill health I worked a total of six months part-time over an 18 month period. The rules said that I should receive six months full pay and six months half pay: my employers continously sent me reports to read and comment on during the 18 month period and said that as I was providing a service I would receive full pay for the whole of the 18 month period.

I doubt that many employers would do the same.
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Out of interest, was this a public/private/civil service employer?
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

Purple said:
Loyalty has to work both ways but in the end it's both parties doing what they consider to be in their own best long term interest. If an employee gets full pay when out sick when they are not contractually entitled to it then it is reasonable that the employer can expect them to do things that are outside their contract (like working overtime etc). It's give and take that should balance out in the long run (if not then one party is exploiting the other).
Of course keeping the business viable will take precedence but next month’s profit shouldn't.
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+1.

I think there is give and take, but sometimes both sides can do a lot of the taking. Ultimately, employees are people, sometimes with families and family needs; and a job is for the most parts a means of paying the mortgage.

And in the private sector an employer is there to have a viable business that rewards the owners and business starters for their risk and for putting a huge personal gamble into creating the employment in the first place.

Somewhere there is a balance, not sure where. However, some managers may be more forgiving of personal circumstances than others. Just like some employees will take advantage of certain circumstances it shouldn't be used to judge an employer as a whole or employees as a whole (in any sector...ahem).

And I do think you do build up loyalty for employers. I do and have. But I also subscribe to the swings and roundabouts principle that there are times when I do have to put in the extra hours, but then there are times to balance this out when things may be quieter and I'm able to leave earlier. If it was all one way, I'd have problems with those circumstances.

I do have some colleagues that are only ever conscious of the times they put in extra hours and forget the times they left at lunch on a friday.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

Hi Firefly,

The company is a UK Utility which was originally in the public service but which was privatised some years ago.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

I worked for a small private limited company for six years. I am left a year now. There were six of us maximum. Our two bosses were very good to us. When one of the bosses became ill and needed some time off, everyone else had to step up to the plate and put in extra hours, extra duties, etc so that the job was covered. No point in getting a temp replacement in, we needed people (us) who knew what to do, so job was shared amongst rest of people. No one even had to ask. We got very well paid, well treated, worked hard. I remember when I bought new house before the money came through for the old one, the boss asked me if I was ok for the 45K deposit. It was that kind of company. Give and take. We were like a little family and all of us are still close friends.

Now I work for a multinational and I don't or never will have the same loyalty. Yes, I do my job, get paid, sometimes put in some extra time, so not to put myself under pressure the next day and that is it.
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

mod bump
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

MandyC - why did you leave your old job? sounds like it was better then the one you are in now.
I would love to work for a smaller company than I am in now, I am actually getting the boot the end of this month anyway! No hard feelings, thats the way the cookie crumbles, but I am on wind-down time now, you wont get much work out of me for the next 4 weeks LOL! dont think they care though, once I go quietly haha!
 
Re: The notion of "loyalty" in employer/employee relations.. "I gave 30 years of my l

Old boss had health issues so we were being taken over, so to speak. The office was relocating to their premises, which did not suit me either. There would only be me and him(part time) left from our side, so we were swallowed up. Boss gave me a choice to stay or go, so I took the ok redundancy package.

I am perfectly happy where I am now, it's just different, I prefer smaller owner run companies, but to be honest where I am is fine, but I would never give the same commitment - we just dont have that same family feel. However, I do enjoy what I do - but it is a job only.
 
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