MIT Sloan Management Review

Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Leadership and Organizational Studies

 

Loyalty in the Age of Downsizing

By Linda K. Stroh and Anne H. Reilly

July 15, 1997

Are managers today less loyal to their companies? If so, can companies counter this trend? To retain loyal managers, companies must nurture an apolitical culture that places high priority on meeting career needs.

“Today, the employer’s attitude is that making money is number one; the employees are not number one any-more. Constant changes in company structures create less loyalty. In the past ten to twenty-five years, employees have acted more like free agents. . . . There is less trust, more anxiety, and less loyalty on the employee’s part. . . . Loyalty to the company has to be fostered by the company.” — Mid-level manager

“We were almost taken over, and a lot of people were let go; the loyalty that people had for this company has changed. But the company’s loyalty to the employee has changed also. This is bound to affect . . . what an employee is willing to do for a company. We’ve seen a lot of good employees and good performers lose their jobs, and we’re all less sure of ourselves. This is true not only in our company, but in our whole industry.” — Mid-level manager

These quotes point to a disturbing trend in many corporations: the decline of employee loyalty associated with the dramatic downsizing, restructuring, and re-engineering occurring throughout corporate America. The titles of some business and popular press articles reflect this decline (e.g., “Loyalty No Longer a Model for Corporate Life,” “Corporate Loyalty Not What It Was,” “The New Deal: What Companies and Employees Owe One Another,” “Whatever... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.

 
 

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