What is the biggest lesson that employment has taught you?

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Loyalty is vastly overrated. The only rational course of action is to complete exactly the tasks to which you've agreed for the wage they've determined. Your employer will demand loyalty but never reciprocate. Don't let them manipulate you.
Also, never ever let them see you sweat. It doesn't matter how good your employer is, at the first hint that you're insecure, they'll pounce and you'll be treated like garbage. Always have your briefcase packed and a box to clear out your desk on a moment's notice.
- I'm learning that second point right now and it is tough.
  
  It is. Especially if it catches you off-guard. Hang in there.
- IMO acting out of loyalty is never good. That is a backwards application of the concept intended to make you to act against your own interests.
  Some people like to flip the idea of loyalty around from a description of behavior to a reason for behavior as a method of manipulating other people.
  Like, if people see me consistently supporting my friends even when that is difficult they might think I'm 'loyal', but that's backwards. I'm not supporting them because I am loyal, I support them because I like them and want them to succeed (and hopefully they'll support me too). If someone wants loyalty from me, that's an immediate red flag that tells me they either don't understand why I do things, or they don't care and just want me to do whatever they want.
  
  I'm not sure that I completely understand your point, but I totally agree that loyalty is earned and not automatic. And it can be used against you to coerce acting against your own best interests. I keep running into this with my employer, despite mountains of evidence over the years.
  I'm a slow learner.
  
  loyalty is earned
  For me, it's not even that. Loyalty is not owed, nor is it earned. It is nothing more than a description of behavior.
  Think of it this way: I always do my grocery shopping at Target instead of Walmart, even if I see that something is slightly cheaper at Walmart I'll still most likely go to Target for it. Some might see that and say, "Look, he has loyalty to Target", assuming that I shop at Target because I am loyal to that brand. But that's backwards. Really it is that I can be described as 'loyal' because I consistently go to that brand. 'Loyalty' is a description of the behavior, not the cause of the behavior.
  it can be used against you
  Only if you have bought into the coercive bullshit that 'loyalty' is itself a reason to do something. Employee or customer loyalty is nothing more than an observation that people consistently support the company. That loyal behavior is seen because those people consistently have reasons to support the company. If you observe that people are loyally supporting your company, that is because they have reasons to do so (for example, you might be paying them to show up and do shit. Or maybe they think the shit they are doing is important or fun).
  People who want something from you for less than it is worth will try to convince you that loyalty is something you owe them or that they have earned from you because if you believe the lie that loyalty is a reason for action that makes it easier to get you to give them something for free.
  
  We’re going to have to disagree about allegiance being a behavioral motivator since means a strong feeling of support. That seems impossible to express in any way except motivated action.
  People who want something from you for less than it is worth will try to convince you that loyalty is something you owe them or that they have earned from you
  On this we totally agree. It’s bullshit.
  
  No, I agree that allegiance is a behavioral motivator, but I think it is distinct from loyalty and that people tend to conflate the concepts (similar to how people sometimes conflate or confuse infer/imply and borrow/lend).
  Loyalty, a behavior, can be observed; allegiance, a commitment (maybe supported by emotion, maybe not), cannot.
  
  Allegiance and loyalty are synonyms. Both are nouns. They are defined in terms of each other:
  loyalty
  Word forms: plural loyalties
  uncountable noun
  Loyalty is the quality of staying firm in your friendship or support for someone or something.
  I have sworn an oath of loyalty to the monarchy. [+ to]
  This is seen as a reward for the army's loyalty during a barracks revolt earlier this month.
  Synonyms: faithfulness, commitment, devotion, allegiance
  allegiance
  Word forms: plural allegiances
  variable noun
  Your allegiance is your support for and loyalty to a particular group, person, or belief.
  My allegiance to Kendall and his company ran deep. [+ to]
  ...a community driven by strong ties and allegiances.
  Synonyms: loyalty, duty, obligation, devotion
  undefined
  
  --Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

597 comments