Loyalty or Commitment?

The way we think about the possibility of work, employment, being part of an organization... has changed over the years. Employees over 50, for example, will remember the relationship that existed between most companies and their employees and most employees and their companies.

If you were fortunate enough to work for IBM, HP, GE, J&J, P&G,... a few things were taken for granted:

• You had a job for life
• You would get trained - you were working in a business academy after all
• The organization would take care of you and would be managing your career, readying you for your next move and the one after that
• You would be expected to be loyal to the organization, do a good job
• You would be expected to embrace the culture, fit in, and follow the rules.
  

Things started to change when "employment for life" was no longer a realistic expectation. When companies started laying employees off the implicit contract between employee and employer changed. Attempts to soften or obscure the reality by calling sackings, right-sizing, downsizing, workforce adjustments,... were temporary. People quickly got the message, "you are expendable", "you are a variable cost", "you can be let go when we choose".

Little by little the question was asked by employees, "why should I be loyal to the organization when they are not loyal to me?" At the same time it was becoming clear for everyone that career progression was not something you could rely on - even by doing a good job. Companies were even training their employees to be responsible for their own careers, to keep developing skills, to keep themselves marketable... One could argue that one of the intended outcomes of this, "your career is in your own hands" strategy was not just a reduction in the cost of investing in people, it was a way to lessen the conscience at layoff time about putting people out of work.

Notwithstanding the changes to the implicit and explicit employment contracts employers still expected loyalty to the organization, and even loyalty to the boss.

Employees on the other hand, especially younger employees who have no experience of the "employee for life" era, don't buy into the "loyalty to the organization" expectation. Their loyalties, for the most part, are to their careers, their personal values, their friends, their social networks, and so on.

Does this mean they are less reliable, or less engaged employees? No, on the contrary. How come? Because instead of loyalty as their primary operating principle they have commitment. Commitment to their job, to their project, to their results, to developing their skills and to staying marketable.

While some may regret that loyalty is not longer a primary organizing principle, its replacement - a commitment to doing a good job, to delivering on accountabilities and living the organization's values is a better business model - for everyone.