Longevity in a Job
By Danielle Birchard
Those in the generation of my parents and grandparents are known to have stayed in their jobs for multiple years. Sometimes three, four, or five decades. This is not the case for most workers of my generation. They stay at a job for a year or two, and then they move on.
As part of the Gen-Z generation, I get so many looks of surprise when I tell people that I have worked at my current job for almost seven years now. That is almost unheard of. And as I work in HR, I understand both sides of the coin; loyalty at one company for years and moving between companies to have a wide range of experiences at a place that fits your lifestyle.
The tricky part of this argument is that every person has different expectations for what they want at their job, and every company has different expectations of what they look for in employees and the type of experience they will provide to their team. Therefore, there is no one right answer for everyone. My goal in this blog is not to convince anyone of choosing one path or another, but rather to explain the reason that I chose to stay with one company for so long.
It all comes down to an excitement for our mission and culture. Since day one of starting work with my company, I felt like I was part of something big. Something that would make a difference. The President of the company instilled that into me, and into all our employees brought on since then. When you wake up every day and feel no motivation to go do the work that you have been assigned, of course you will want to find another job. But if you understand the company’s goals, how you fit into them, and the mission that everyone is trying to accomplish, even the more menial tasks can be done with pride. And culture. Culture is vital as job seekers look for employment. They want to find a place where they will be welcomed and will immediately be made to feel part of the team. A culture like that starts at the top and flows down. My boss has done a great job of cultivating that. A place where every person is valued, as is the work that they do. Ideas are not laughed at, but jokes are made amongst each other and at every team meeting. There is lots of laughter at our office. And a lot of hard work is accomplished, which we then celebrate.
Longevity at a company holds many benefits. You get to see the business grow and flourish, you get to learn from the mistakes that are made, you get to know the ins and outs of your job and the company itself. Seeing success over many years is very gratifying, although not a path that everyone can or should take. The main goal is to find a company where you are motivated and valued, where you can put your skills and talents to great use.
