Loyalty v. Responsibility
For those of you not in the Des Moines area, Principal Financial Group (one of the city’s biggest employers) laid of 550 people yesterday. Andy Drish, a Gen-Y blogger and Principal employee, put it best when describing the lay-offs: “Companies tend to think that Gen Y isn’t ‘loyal.’ Now maybe they’ll understand why we keep our job options open. We’d be foolish not to.” Wow. Well said. The days of corporate America “taking care” of their employees are long gone. Take note.
I think even my dad, from the boomer generation, has to think this way now…he is a welder and has gone through 6 jobs in about 8 years due to the economy, he has instructed me to always keep job options open. The world is becoming so transient and volatile that we always have to be one step ahead, or sometime 5 steps.
I have to say that I disagree completely with this blog. I, being a Principal Employee and a Gen Y'er, think that the company did everything they could to cut expenses in other means before coming to the last resort of cutting jobs. A company that continues to pay an employee that is let go for nearly a month would not be a company that doesn't “take care” of their employee. I don't think this is a good example of how to show “Corporate America” that Generation Y is not a loyal generation. I know that I definitely don't want to be labeled as “disloyal” or want that adjective to be tagged with my Generation.
-JBrad
Jason -
I think you may have missed the point of this post by Justin. The post was not intended to be a bash against Principal. As their employee, I'm sure you have felt the effects of budget cuts in your department and I do not doubt that they looked at other ways cut costs before letting go of employees.
What is being said is that the times are different. There was once an ideal that if we give ourselves away for a company, a company will give themselves away for us. Gen Y' has seen their grandparents and parents devote their entire lives to a company (often at the expense of their family). Then, upon retirement they are given a gold watch and party with cake from Hy-Vee and red punch.
Why would we give loyalty for a watch and some cake? It doesn't make any sense.
That fact is the ideal of company loyalty is gone. We have learned that generally speaking, most companies care more about revenue than people (sadly most churches has adopted a business model and also care more and revenue and programs than they do people).
I like Andy's post and as a fellow PFG employee I can say it was a tough day for sure… but want to address the 'companies not taking care of their employees' comment you noted. As Andy mentioned, PFG did things the best they could… people are still on board through the holidays (although many were given the option of not returning to work and still getting paid if they choose), they are still eligible for their bonus (which may not be much but it is still an option in some areas of the company), provided severance and career assistance. And just so we don't assume everyone was devastated… one of the ladies in my dept was let go and threw a party last night. She was elated with the situation: she doesn't have to come back to work, can use up her pto and gets a severance. I know that isn't the norm, but it was somewhat refreshing to hear someone who had been with the company for a very long time actually be excited about her new situation.
I will also say that my boss said it great… if this isn't a hard day for us as leaders then something is wrong with us. if we don't know these people and are not a part of their lives then we are not caring about our employees the way we should. On the other hand, if we can't look at the environment we are currently in and know that times have changed and we have to make really difficult decisions sometimes, then we are not good leaders either.
I feel bad for people who 'give their lives' to a company… but the reality is they shouldn't be giving their lives to a company. set boundaries, focus on what is really important. Still get your job done and do it well, but good leaders will respect that and understand it is better for everyone in the long run. Not 'giving yourself' to a company will make these changes a lot easier because you'll know who defines you.
I know there are some companies out there who aren't taking care of their employees, but PFG should not be considered as one of them.
@Jason – I think Dave and Amanda did a great job of summing up my points… I just wanted to clarify: Principal did a great job of handling this situation. I really don't think there is anything they could have improved. When most companies are cutting 10%, we're cutting 3.5%. And, as mentioned, employees are still getting severance, career assistance, and to work for three more weeks.
The point of my post is that, no matter what level you're at in a company, your job is never “secure.” Any one of us could have been let go on Tuesday.
And I hate to break it to you, but our generation is already labeled as “not loyal.” Our average tenure at a job is roughly two years. Seeing all of these layoffs (from companies across the board, not just Principal ) only encourages our generation to keep our options open and to have a back up plan.
My wife and I were talking about this the other day. It's a pretty sharp double-edged sword. Very few of our friends have stayed in one or even two jobs in the past few years.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28196734/
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