Of Loyalty (Again)

I always seem to get stuck on a particular theme before moving on to other topics, don’t I? Anyway, today I’ll write about another type of loyalty, that is, loyalty to your employer. How long do you stay at one particular job and when you move on, what are your reasons? Why do some people spend a lifetime on one job while others move to a new job almost every year? What does it take for you to be forever blissfully happy with what you have? During the span of my career, I have changed jobs three times. I stayed 4 years at Company 1, 2 years at Company 2 and 1 year at Company 3. Applying simple mathematics, you’d think that there’s a fair chance that I’ll stay for only 6 months at Company 4. Well, admittedly, I felt some apprehension that the ‘maths curse’ would befallen me again. It didn’t help that DD decided to come into this world 1 day shy of my 6 months’ probation. It crossed my mind that when I go back to the office after the maternity leave is over, there’ll be someone sitting at my place. Well, it turned out that I managed to break the curse after all! What a relief it was. Truth is, I’m a little tired of changes. I just want to stay. And secretly, I have huge admiration for people who are loyal to their employers. Despite issues on pay packages, boss-staff relationships, colleague-enemy relationships, inconvenient locations, little career advancements, they stay. Sure, they complain like I do or even worse, but at the end of the day, they stay. I was certainly not like that at all. I quit when I had problems with the boss. I quit when I couldn’t stand the clients. And you guess it right, I quit when the company faced financial problems. My thinking was simple, I don’t have to take this crap. If I can’t change things and yet can’t accept them either, then I’ll just leave. No headaches. And then things change. I got pregnant. With that, came the financial responsibility of raising a child. I know ultimately it is DH’s responsibility, but reality is that we need two incomes to leave a reasonably comfortable life and I’m capable of working, so why not? I was also getting older (err wiser) and have mellowed down somewhat. With my perspectives changed and my priorities rearranged, I was ready to settle down. I’ve been with the company for over two years. I hope to continue working here. I love my job, the benefits are attractive and the environment is tolerable. But then, things change. With the change in shareholders, there’re concerns about our future in the company. A few people have left. I’m feeling a little uncertain too. The old me would have taken her fate in her own hands instead of leaving it to the people in the boardroom to decide. But the new me decides to wait and see what happens. I don’t know whether that’s wise. Only time will tell.