Loyalty with a Little L

Loyalty with a Little "L"

Since companies have downsized their loyalty to their employees, managers must also downsize the loyalty that they expect from their employees. The "Big L" loyalty demanded from employees of the past was an undying, patriotic, and almost spiritual commitment to the company for a lifetime. Those days are gone. Rather, in return for the new, limited promise of employability, you have the right to expect employees to remain loyal only with a little "L."

Loyalty with a little "L" means little more than a commitment to put the company's interest first while you work there. Invincible executives, therefore, expect their employees to refrain from such activities as insider trading, antitrust or anticompetitive actions, bribery and kickbacks, pirating software, harassment and discrimination, and other illegal or unethical acts showing that personal interests or the interests of others are more important than those of the company. Successful executives also have a right to expect that employees do not do personal activities on company time, do not lie about lateness or sickness, and refrain from other activities that, while not serious legal infractions, cost the company money. The only loyalty that an invincible executive expects from an employee is that the employee do his or her job ethically and well.

But that is the extent of it. Sure, it is wonderful to have employees who wave the company flag at all times, and those employees should be rewarded. But the invincible executive does not expect or require that sort of loyalty from employees to the organization because he or she cannot guarantee a reciprocal level of loyalty by the organization to the employee.