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Ryan Healy graduated Penn State University in the Spring of 2006. He recently left his consulting position to start 
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New here? Employee Evolution is dedicated to helping the Millennial generation answer the hard-hitting questions that come with the biggest transition of our lives. Be sure to visit our about section for the full story. Since you're here, check out our best articles in the archives. We've also put together a list of some Millennial-friendly employers on our jobs page. Any questions? Feel free to contact us.
The lifelong company man no longer exists. Working 30 years for a gold watch at retirement is dead. But we didn’t kill it, the corporations did. Defined benefit pensions are a thing of the past, employees can be laid off because of a less than average quarter on Wall Street and 100 percent health care coverage is a rarity.
While growing up in the 90’s, I witnessed mass layoffs and employee strikes on the news. I watched my parent’s friends lose jobs they had been working for 20 years. I have no misconceptions – big business is a dirty game. I can lose my job at any second.
I consistently hear that Gen-Y has no loyalty to their companies. As far as I’m concerned, we are just giving corporate America a taste of their own medicine. Those who say we are not loyal to our companies are partially right. I don’t know anyone who will walk in the door of GE on their first day and think, “I’m going to do anything and everything I can for this company because they really care about me!”
This is because loyalty is a two-way street. The company must earn your loyalty and you must earn theirs. Millennials recognize this. Some senior managers expect obedience based on a brand name and they are shocked when they don’t get it. That being said, I desperately want to put my trust in an employer. But it’s not an easy thing to do.
Instead, I put trust in myself and in my work. It has been well established that young people, including me, are interested in meaningful, fulfilling work. We already know that we cannot and will not be loyal to a company just “because.” However, if you find a fulfilling career that you are passionate about it’s nearly impossible not to be deathly loyal to your work; no matter what company you work for.
Further, in an article about Connected Ventures, the company behind College Humor, Busted Tees and Vimeo, Fast Company asks, “Have you ever wandered into an office staffed by 55 employees who are mostly 24-year-olds and in their first job out of college? It might be kind of fun, right?”
Of course it would be fun. I would drop everything to work there right now. This is another case in point; young people want to have a fun, collaborative work environment. We seek out friendships with our bosses and co-workers. When our relationships do turn into friendships or at least a mutual respect, we will inevitably be loyal to these people, and in turn, we will be loyal to the company.
Young people are experts on how to be team players. Many of us grew up playing soccer, basketball or baseball. If not sports, others were in the band, on the debate team or members of student council. Create a team atmosphere and we won’t quit on you. It’s not in our nature.
Companies broke the contract. Loyalty can no longer be expected; from either side. Young people are not naïve; we understand the reality that is corporate America. We also realize that life is pretty empty if you are loyal to nothing, so we continue to seek out meaning, fulfillment, friendships and fun work environments. We all want to be loyal to whatever company we work for. Give us a reason and we won’t let you down.
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Ryan, I enjoyed this article, and I’ve also witnessed and been affected by many of the loyalty-shaking practices you describe: layoffs, pension freezes or eliminations, “offshore” hiring. And while we’re at it, let’s position those practices against the backdrop of skyrocketing CEO salaries and bonus structures. As you describe, the unspoken trust between employer and employee has been broken, and the employee is holding the short end of the stick.
Of course, there are a million different reasons for this, and I don’t want to ignore the fact that stiff competition in a global economy makes it harder and harder for U.S. companies to take proper care of its workforce. I also don’t want to get into a game of, “well, they started it,” because the fact is, job-hopping reflects badly on a potential employee no matter how noble the reasons behind it. Not to mention that it sometimes really does take more than 24 months to acclimate yourself to a company environment and to start making a difference.
But no matter what your long- or short-term plans, working somewhere is no longer just “working somewhere.” However long you’re there, you are also selling yourself up and down the hierarchy, you are building your network of professional contacts in case you need to lean on it someday, and you’re (hopefully) contributing as much as you can to your employer-matched 401(k), which will follow you from employer to employer no matter what happens.
Broken trust is a horrible thing, but now that we’re a wiser workforce, we may as well start being smarter too.
I actually do feel loyal to my company because it’s a great place to work and I enjoy my job, but I agree that I wouldn’t be loyal “just because”.
Working with people you enjoy is key to your happiness in a job (although working successfully with people you don’t enjoy is a skill). I think our generation is more in tune with what WE want and not so much what our boss wants for us, and that’s why we are not loyal just to be loyal. We are looking for opportunities to create new relationships and explore new areas that can make us happy.
Even if I found something that I thought I was happy in I would still be looking out for other opportunities and being proactive. The idea of staying with one company just to gain “tenure” or because of a resistance to change is not characteristic of our generation. We know that the employment market is volatile and we can’t always depend on the companies to take care of us. We have to take care of ourselves and our own happiness, and I would rather be ahead of the curve then to be caught off guard. Regardless of how much I enjoy the people and my work, I know it’s dangerous to get too cozy at one place.
Ryan, do you have any examples of articles or blogs that state that Gen-Y has no loyalty to their companies? I think that it is pretty accepted now that employees will switch jobs more easily now. I can’t imagine anyone complaining about a lack of ‘loyalty’ any more.
This might seem in stark contrast to my previous posts defending the idea of moving from a job after a couple years, but I do feel a sense of loyalty to my management team, and ultimately, my company. I think this is due in large part to my personality, but also due to the nature of my application for the job. I knew when I was applying for jobs that I was applying way over the “standard� entry level job. I figured an entry level job would bore me into a cycle of job hopping, so I applied a tier up to dozens and dozens of jobs. I got a few employers bite, and I recognized that employers would be taking a risk by hiring me. For that, I feel there is reason to be loyal. Also, I have a much higher salary with 2-3x the benefits of peers in college. And even though I’ve conceded that I will be moving on in the next year or so, I feel a sense of loyalty can be maintained throughout.
My complaints are minimal, though in magnitude they are great. However, they do not eliminate the benefits of my position, so I think for all these reasons I am, to an extent, loyal to my employer. I would not want to work in a position I was not loyal whatsoever, because that would indicate I have no reasons to be thankful for the opportunity given. Am I being naïve? Do I think my employer wouldn’t fire me in a second? I’ve already seen the “reallocation of assets� since I’ve been here, and job hopping for a raise is openly talked about by many in this industry, even those in management.
I agree that being loyal “just because� is not a welcomed attribute, but if you don’t have anything to be loyal about in your position, why are you not already actively pursuing other options? Some sense of loyalty means, in large part, that you’re being given the best opportunities available at the time. I think that is the key to evaluating your position.
I believe loyalty is actually alive in our generation, but it is because of the reasons I mentioned. We are loyal to our co-workers and our work which in turn makes us loyal to the company. However, I don’t think most people are loyal to the company just because they provide them with a job.
@Scott - I can’t find any specific posts about Gen-Y not being loyal, but I am referring to the fact that the Department of Labor says Gen-Y will change jobs every 2 years until we are 32. Also, the book Recruit or Die highlights the fact that the biggest problem facing business today is retaining young workers. Many people interpret this as Gen-Y not being loyal.
I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but something in Nathan’s post made me think of something that I’d like to toss out to the group. I’m GenX, but I’m supervising a team of creatives, 25% of whom are GenY. As a supervisor, I’ve been involved in hiring and firing decisions, and I’ve seen what goes on behind those closed doors.
I can’t speak for every major corporation out there, but with mine, hiring and firing decisions are actually made at the ground level, by direct supervisors and sometimes their supervisors. The headcount of the entire department may be dictated by somewhere way up above us, but when it comes down to deciding who actually stays or goes, it’s a human decision made by people who are very close to the individuals involved. These are our co-workers and very often our friends.
I mention this as a warning about the irony: people who are identified as “short-timers” (not just because they are GenY–that would be too broad a generalization–but because of their general demeanor) are often the easiest to eliminate. I can justify it to myself by saying that they “have one foot out the door already anyway.” So the work philosophy that you adopt to protect yourself could actually lose you a position you really enjoy.
Not sure what I want to do with that; just something to think about.
Great post, Ryan!
Scott:
Do a Google News search for “Gen-Y” AND “Loyalty,” I could point you to some dated articles, but you’d be surprised at some of the recent discussion.
-Paugh
Perhaps, at some point, there has to be a truce and a trial period of loyalty. I think you can’t expect a company to be loyal to you if you walk in the front door proclaiming your skepticism. I was told a story on Friday by a very sucessful business woman of a Gen-Y she hired a few years ago. This girl approached the boss’ desk on her very first day of work and proclaimed, “I will only be here for 2 years and 11 months.” Apparently the girl had heard somewhere that that was average time to spend at a company nowadays. Without fail, on the last day of the 35th month, the girl gave her two week notice. The boss told her she could leave immediately.
Like some other people have mentioned, there should also be reasons for loyalty, which your title suggests. An employee should not expected to be blindly faithful to a corporation simply based ona paycheck. Loyalty develops out of a mutual respect for the time and effort it takes to train someone and retain them as a valuable resource and that individuals personal needs beyond payday.
Well put, Ryan!
Ryan - Great post. I want to respond more fully, but I don’t have time right now. I’ll be back to this one. I like it.
Great post Ryan. Your point captures the American labor situation of “employment at will.”
ryan, if you thought it was painful to watch, you should’ve been there. from first-hand experience as a 50 year old software developer I can tell you it sucked rocks, the ugly tasting kind.
i would add that “loyalty” as a concept exists between PEOPLE. it does not exist between a person and some legalistic operating entity (aka a “corporation”). if the owners of a company decide that loyalty is one of their core values only then do those who work there stand a chance of being shown the loyalty in return for same.
the problem with “loyalty” throughout the 80s and 90s is that it is usually a one-way street. companies expect you to be loyal to a fault but won’t show you the same when the chips are down…
my advice: be a great worker, enjoy what you do the best you can but keep your Rolodex full, keep in contact with those folks and ALWAYS HAVE AN EXIT STRATEGY.
I like the warm and fuzzy thoughts of paternalistic employers, and I do know some. Their bottom line suffers because the leaders don’t seem to value the difference between running a business and running a social service. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but it doesn’t work out very well when you add stockholders to the picture. That said, they have fiercely loyal employees - but it’s not necessarily the high performers.
Corporations did not kill anything, but their people did. This is an important but oft-overlooked distinction. Put the blame where it should be - on the unabashed greed of a bunch of folks who took advantage of their position in the capitalist food chain (officers, boards, stockholders). And tell me you will not do the same when you get there - when you want that bigger house, the swimming pool, private school for the kids, and the Porsche in the driveway. For some, this past greed gave you a great life and education and expectations of the good life that you will want to pass on to your kids. The test will be how you treat those who work for you, when you are where those you denigrate are now.
Is it going to be all about you, or all about us? Loyalty will be a function of where the organization falls on that scale and whether employee values match those of the decision makers, regardless of which side you are on.