Loyalty, is it Simply Out of Date?

I am talking here about employer / employee relationships here, but this same argument can be made for any relationship.

While I do understand the idea expressed so often that loyalty to ones employer or company is out dated and even in some cases detrimental. I also understand the bitterness these days towards corporate America as a whole. From the Enron Scandal in the 90's, to the Housing Bailout's and Auto Manufacturers Buyouts recently. It seems that the honest hardworking Middle American is the one to get screwed. Let's face it the poverty stricken lower class is being handed our money with the new "Redistribution of Wealth" programs that our Democrat administration is pushing. Big Business is getting even more of our hard earned money, for what essentially amounts to at the very least incompetence, at the worst out and out fraud. Then with no forethought what so ever they hand out millions of dollars in bonus money to those who essentially ruined our economy in the first place. All in the name of "what's in it for me" greed.


What we must realize is that these corporate and political leaders are a direct result of the "do it if it feels good" and "I need to take care of me first" mentality that came about in the 60's.

They have learned nothing from the tragedies that their attitude and actions have caused. What's worse is that they spawned an entire generation of money chasers and yuppies, who in turn over compensated for their parents and spoiled their 1.2 children. Resulting in an entire new generation of "Entitlement kids".

Where does it stop?

Yes the days of unwavering devotion to ones company seem to be at an end. However, WHY is this? It is expressed by many that the reason for this is, that type of loyalty has so often been betrayed recently that our faith in such ideals is ruined.

While I do agree with this, I cannot help but to feel that this is just a symptom of the larger problem. As a Non Commissioned Officer in the United States Army I was taught by great men that loyalty worked two ways never one. If you require loyalty from your men you must first give loyalty to them. It is not a popularity contest. I have seen loyalty of amazing proportion given to some of the hardest SOB's around. Why? Because they were fair and honest with their men. They required hard work and dedication, but they GAVE hard work and dedication. These HARD men would not ask more than they would do or had done themselves. More than that they kept the faith with their men, they promised nothing they would not give and they cared for their men first above themselves.

I have also seen men of character who worked for lesser men than themselves. Men who gave loyalty a faithful service. Never shirking from their responsibility, striving to do their best even when they knew they could get by with less, and that their actions were not truly appreciated . These men taught me the true meaning of loyalty to one’s self.

The idea that you do not need to be loyal to the company, because the company is not loyal to you, hurts you and those who work with you. It expresses a value to your children, friends, and anyone who might admire or look up to you as a man, which is pure selfishness. It propagates the "what’s in it for me" mentality that is the cause of corporate disloyalty in the first place. Employers have an obligation to their employees, corporations have an obligation to their shareholders, and the public in general, and the government, including the bureaucracy have an obligation to the people which they serve.

These ideals have been fading from our world. This has not happened over night, it has been a gentle erosion of a few grains at a time over the course of decades. It's starts in the life of one man, the example that man sets not with words but by deed, effects the future actions of many. This grows exponentially and spreads like a disease.

I say that loyalty to ones employer is best shown by simply being an honest man. Work to the best of your ability when you are at work. Do the best job you can do always. Never shortcut anything. Give the time, and skills you are paid for, to your job. Take pride in your work not matter what it is. This too is loyalty to yourself and your family. If you must leave your current employer for a better wage, or greater opportunity that is not disloyalty, if you know that you gave the best while employed by them. Loyalty shown to an employer in deed and action will instill loyalty in future generations. Those who come after us will be the new CEO's and leaders of the world. What they learn early will be the litmus that they measure their future decisions against. We must all strive to set the example for our children, of morality, and courage, by holding to our moral compass. I guarantee you that whether you are a doctor, a CEO, or a garbage collector, someone you know has held you up as their example in some way. That may be work related, family relations, or personal hygiene, whatever it is......Stop and ask yourself....."What example do I set by my actions every day" Whether or not you have children, someone is watching and learning from you. Loyalty, and morality are contagious, and the only way to spread them is not through words, but through action. Where better to start than in the work place?

Loyalty in the work place boils down to:

(1) Keeping faith that you will perform 100% the work you are paid to do.

(2) Keeping the secrets of the company to which you are privileged.

(3) Doing all things at work in the best interest of the company. This sometimes includes whistle blowing.
     Illegal or dangerous practices are never in the best interest of a company.

(4) Do not talk ill of your employer to those outside of the company. It hurts the company and makes you look bad as well.

It's simple really....DO WHAT YOU KNOW IN YOUR HEART IS RIGHT..... It may be the harder road to follow, but I guarantee that in the long run the burden you carry will be lighter.

No one is perfect, we all grouse, we all slack at times, but day to day, do you put forth the image of someone who gives his best, or just enough to get by? Do your children, friends and neighbors see a man of his word, or a person who can only be trusted to do what is in his own best interest?

I leave you with this thought....Do not worry about what the guy next to you gets away with, while you toil. There will always be those who will try to take advantage. Do not let yourself be drawn into this mentality. The more of us who resist the urge to follow the easy way, at the detriment of others, the more who will follow our example. Good can grow as exponentially as evil. Let's take back or corporations and our government one grain of sand at a time just as it eroded.