Just How Loyal Are You?

Just How Loyal Are You? July 19, 2013

Just How Loyal Are You ?

I was honored to have this published over at the High Calling today. Below is an excerpt. Click Read the full post here..

True loyalty has an unspoken duality, with each side displaying the honesty it takes for healthy relationships of any sort. But the truth is loyalty isn’t always mutual. Often it’s a one-sided affair, and that creates a quandary for those who want to do the right thing.

Some read the story of Jacob in the Bible and fawn over the romance and love. You know the one–where Jacob works for seven years to win the hand of Rachel, only to find out that her conniving father was only offering the less winsome sister, Leah. So, it takes another seven years labor to finally attain the right to marry Rachel.

While some see love that won’t quit, I read the passage and see the story of a terrible employer and eager-to-please employee who should have walked out of bad workplace.

Was Jacob simply too smitten with Rachel to rightly assess his situation? I’ve been there with compensation, benefits, position, and power. Loyalty can be bought, but is it genuine?  Is that what we really want from our employers?

And Laban seemed to have an obsession with getting the most of his laborer with the least amount of compensation. There really is nothing new under the sun, is there?

An alternative to loyalty

Tod Kelly from the League of Ordinary Gentlemen wrote about why he “decided to no longer be a loyal employee to anyone ever again.”

Instead he chose the role of “owner.” Even though the company wasn’t in his name, he became more vested in the success of “his” organization.

loyal work
Photo by Carla DeKalb

Do you consider yourself a loyal employee?

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