I'm totally a whippersnapper

[fredericks]

I was in the office the other day and I realized that I've been working for my current place of employ for almost four years (technically 39 months, as per the seniority list; really a little more than three years, but still). I found that pretty astounding. But then I looked at the women in the cubicles to my left, and remembered they've been with my company in total for almost 60 years. Just today one was reminiscing about working in St. Vincents Hospital (in the West Village) in the late 1970's, and both of them were laughing about working as nurses during the Blackout of 1977. It boggles my mind.

I'm not one to make a five- or ten-year plan, and I've never seriously thought about staying put long enough to be at the top of any seniority totem pole. Is it a generational thing? My parents have worked their jobs for 25 and 30 years respectively. It was considered the norm to find a career job and stay put, I think. But none of my peers/friends can tell me they see themselves staying with this company, not even necessarily doing what s/he's currently doing now. And companies pick up on that, I think. I recall hearing during our recent contract negotiations from managers who stated that young workers have no loyalty, and so the employer did not want to invest in a retirement fund for new workers. Really? Because, if anything, we're the generation that loves to act out of spite: tell us we're lazy and/or unable to stay put and we're more than willing to get up and walk.

But that might just be my headache talking. Now I'm going to go skateboard up some old guy's sidewalk and stomp on his lawn.

Comments

[anoel.livejournal.com]

I'd say to them that it's hard to be loyal to companies that have no qualms about firing people right and left all in the name of profits, especially short term. But also it makes a lot more sense now in the name of growth. People switch companies or freelance in order to improve their skills, take on more responsibility, try a new industry or just grow by meeting new people or moving to a new city. Before saying young workers aren't loyal, they should try to make companies that are worth being loyal for-which sadly most aren't. To me, being loyal to relationships are worth so much more than a company and a company should want what's best for it's employees which sometimes means leaving to find opportunities that improve and/or fit them better.

And that's my essay for today :)

[captainschlumpy.livejournal.com]

I honestly think that once we all realized that companies could and would chuck us out the door the moment their bottom line was involved, we all just kind of stopped thinking we would work for the same job forever. I started to see how my former agency used people up and spit them out, knowing some whippersnapper would fill the void, and I got really disheartened and angry. Why give a company loyalty when all they really want to do is wring as much out of you for as little money as possible and then move on to the next sap. People are bailing out of wildlife jobs left and right because agencies want all the work done by volunteers or want you to work hours of overtime for free because you "love your job". Meh, not willing to do that any more.

[utopiantrunks.livejournal.com]

Ooh, ooh, don't forget to egg his house!

Huh... I don't think the loyalty thing is true of all young people. If I found a job I liked at a company that treated me well, I think my natural inertia would be more than happy to stick me there forever. But I don't hand out my loyalty willy-nilly and I guess I've taken quite a few jobs just to pay the rent, with no intention of staying longer than it took to find something better. Does that make me a whippersnapper?

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

I'd say to them that it's hard to be loyal to companies that have no qualms about firing people right and left all in the name of profits, especially short term. But also it makes a lot more sense now in the name of growth.

Sort of like you've mentioned, I think it's a bit of a "which came first?" situation. And I want to lay the blame on TPTB. I remember growing up in a household where my parents expected to work for their respective companies until they chose to retire. They'd get rewarded for hiring anniversaries and for what was considered "good work." Nowadays, there's very little to-do made for their years and years invested in their companies. When I was hired at my job I was told that they really just wanted me to stick things out for a least two years. Long term planning was sort of an afterthought in orientation.

Most for profits are not going to want to encourage talent they want to keep on to leave, simply because they've invested energy into training or specialization. But I hear the rest of what you're saying.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Definitely. There are times when you're not made to feel valuable. I mean, I guess some workplaces want to keep that air of desperation going in order to weed out aggressive talent, but outside of a trader/investment environment, it's quite counterproductive to make your workers feel devalued and that they're not appreciated. Love for what a job entails will only take one so far.

[fredericks.livejournal.com]

Ooh, ooh, don't forget to egg his house!
Planning on doing that, right after I stock up on toilet paper. Such wonderful home decoration.

Huh... I don't think the loyalty thing is true of all young people. If I found a job I liked at a company that treated me well, I think my natural inertia would be more than happy to stick me there forever. But I don't hand out my loyalty willy-nilly and I guess I've taken quite a few jobs just to pay the rent, with no intention of staying longer than it took to find something better. Does that make me a whippersnapper?
Don't think so. Not every job is made for longevity. I mean, retail joints must be crazy if they think they're hiring someone for 10+ years of employment. It just seems that most companies love to take workers for granted in the extreme. It's quite frustrating.