Company Disloyalty

During interviews for a job in March, I made clear I was looking for a long-term role. One I could really sink my teeth into and grow as an engineer. I got on well with my interviewers, and indeed got the job, starting in April. September comes along, and I’m made redundant. No warning, just pulled into a meeting with HR, my boss, and my boss’s boss to be told my job no longer exists¹, about a week after a stellar performance review. Such is the way of the startup. At least you’d think, right? This is the second time in twelve months I have been made redundant; I experienced the same exact thing at a large transnational corporation in November.

I’m not writing this to whine. As the headline suggests, I want to discuss the expectations one should have in the working world, both as an employer and employee². Company loyalty in its traditional form is foolish. Much like a relationship with a romantic partner, there is a continuous expectation for your end of the bargain to be held. If it’s your job to take the bins out every week, you can expect consequences if you stop doing that. As this extends to the requirements of one’s role, it does to the requirements of the employer. Anti-WFH return to office initiatives, stagnation of pay and seniority, responsibility creep. These things all contribute to high turnover, and for good reason. But the opposite is also true. Job hunting is stressful and frustrating, and merely a stark minority would choose to hop between roles if they truly appreciated their position & progress trajectory.

The ideal employee is proactive, takes initiative, and truly finds pride in their work, striving to improve life for others, be they colleagues, customers or otherwise. The ideal employer catalyses this, rewarding exemplary behaviour with pay increases, seniority, and a healthy dose of challenge to occupy the brain. If either party fails to deliver, the relationship will not last. Redundancies break this rule, and have seen many a fruitful employment end prematurely, for arcane macroscopic reasons like ‘market conditions’ and ‘organisational restructuring’.

Know your worth as someone who creates value. Do not get comfortable in stagnation. Spark a carnal desire within you to be rewarded fairly for your work.

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