How many people do you know that have been with their current employer for more than 10 years? Well according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics it’s actually 29% of people, which sounds suspiciously high until you consider that a vast majority of this group are made up of workers on the verge of retirement, which is important to remember for later.
Amongst all workers in the US the median was just over 4 years.
In fact multiple studies have suggested that full time workers that stick with their employers for more than two years on average get paid FIFTY PERCENT LESS.
This is an unbelievably large gap, ESPECIALLY when you consider that the average of the loyal working group will be drastically inflated by senior executives and the c suite who tend to have more tenure. In plain English, for regular Joes like you or me, this 50% figure is likely understated.
So why aren’t companies stopping this? Surely having to pay tens of thousands of dollars to advertise a position, interview candidates, onboard new staff, train them and wait for them to get up to speed with their new role is not sustainable if it has to be done over and over again every 2 years… right?…
Well you would think so, but there are a few reasons why companies don’t care about employee loyalty… anymore…
Comments
I have worked in the recruitment/ HR industry nationally and globally for the past 8 years. This video is very accurate.HR departments and leaders will spout their narrative around talent that give you the impression they care. They don’t.The clue is in the word “resources”. And the cheaper that resource the better.
Employer: Don’t like it? Leave
Employee: I’m leaving
Employer: Unbelievable! Why?
Employee: I don’t like it
Employer: This is a great job
I was born in the 80’s and was taught at an early age that loyalty was a thing of the past. The longest I have ever spent at a job was 4 years. I’ll take it one step further and teach my son that a two week notice is also a thing of the past.
“Employers are going to screw you… So screw them back!”
Sounds consensual to me
After working for almost 12 years now there’s 2 things I’ve learned. One is to work hard enough to get through the day and stay out of trouble but don’t strive for anything more cause working to try and be the best of your peers will most likely go unnoticed or unappreciated. And the other is don’t think just cause you’ve worked for one company for a good amount of years and gained a bit of experience means your invulnerable. You can still get replaced easily or fired at the drop of a hat if needed.
The move away from internal promotions is so true, I’m over qualified for my role but they won’t let me move any farther because then they’d need to hire 2 people to fill my spot in order to move me to a more senior role. Instead they just hire external, which is ironic because they are going to loose me anyhow at this rate and need to fill those roles anyhow.
Companies want to hire a 25 year old with 35 years of experience and pay them like an 18 year old.
The description for the bank manager is so true. I work at a bank and had always thought highly of the bank manager role but after 6 years I realized they just make sure customers aren’t upset with the bank and to make we hit their sales goal.
Each time I’ve left a position after 2-3 years I’ve seen a jump in 20-40% of my salary. It just makes sense especially when career progression inside a company is never concrete and 2% increases YoY only adjust for inflation.
I’ve always enjoyed smaller businesses than larger ones, they really value your work, constantly getting offers from big companies and just laughing , especially over the last few years , same companies too. Can’t keep staff around aye?
Side note: if anyone comes around your office wanting to create a “skills matrix” or wanting to “document risks” it means ya’ll about to lose your jobs. I speak from experience 😅
At the hospital where I work in I/T, when senior tech folks leave it often hits hard. They leave with 5-25 years knowledge you just can’t get back. BUT management seems to thrive on putting out fires and making themselves seem overly important. I’d say these last two decades have been decades of lost leadership and poor management–and workers have been paying the price by staying unfortunately.
Hell, this is even true in small companies, the trades, and family businesses. I worked for my old man, as a laborer, apprentice, then carpenter. Started when I was 12, worked for him for 20 years. He promoted everyone past me, hired people and placed them over me, and kept me on a shovel or jackhammer. All of the easy/ prestigious work went to people who he recently hired. I started moonlighting in my mid twenties, working for the competition. Immediate promotion to foreman. Went into business, did a bunch of other things. Now I’m competed for by multiple companies that want me to run concrete pours or handle mid sized projects. The mentality I have adopted is that I’m a stray cat, or a mercenary. I’ll come and stay with you, for the food, but I can and will leave when I wish. The second I don’t like something…. I am gone. Build enough skill and connections that people trust you to handle things, and then you can call the tune.
Don’t forget that the employer also expects you to have a perfectly-written resume, write a custom cover letter for their position, pass numerous interview phases that take close to an hour (or more) each, wait for weeks for an answer, and possibly even do free work to “prove” you can do the job even though you already have a fat portfolio to prove that, and then they turn you down anyway. Every single job can require 5-10 hours of work, sometimes more, when you probably won’t even get hired because they went with an internal candidate and could have just saved you all that time and effort by just hiring the internal candidate in the first place.
This is very true. I was in a company that I thought valued their employees loyalty. 13 years of service and then out of the blue outsourced the job. We didn’t even get a farewell or thank you. HR just spoke to us that the company is letting us go. Sad reality.
I once had an amazing manager who got everyone’s back and bought lunch every week for the staff. He was liked and respected by clients and staff… every quarter the performance was up and we were profitable. For his 25 year anniversary, the large multinational company we worked for gave him… a book stand, engraved with the company’s name. 😂 what a joke
After spending years being told i’d be replaced by machines, i went back to school to become an Electrotechnician. Basically, i repair/install/maintain the machines who were supposed to replace me now.Best decision of my life even if it was partly motivated by spite.
Unfortunately, values like loyalty and dedication mean nothing in today’s business world. It’s cheaper to hire a new employee, at a lower salary , and fire an existing employee being paid more. Corporate loyalty is now a myth.
Was has always pissed me off is the fact that you need so much experience for a lot of ENTRY level jobs. Even some internships which is mind boggling. I’m only 22 yrs old and I’m expected to have 10 years of experience. 😂