Love Your Job....Your Company Too

I. Me. My job. I love my job. I love my company. Am I making contradictory statements? Is loving your job and your company are two different things altogether! The reason for writing this is not because somebody famously quoted “love your job, not your company; as you never know when your company will stop loving you”.  I thought to write because as a fellow professional, I just asked myself one simple thing: is it wrong to love your company or is it wrong to be loyal to your company? If the answer to this question is 'yes', then I gotta study for another 15 years to change my thinking and perspective.

Especially in a competitive and a challenging market scenario where attrition rate is so high and head-hunting and poaching is the order of the day, being loyal to your organization is considered as not-so-trendy!!! What an irony! I have to answer infinite number of questions from 'N' number of people as to why I am still in my first organization for more than a year. A year!! Tell me, have any of our fathers changed their organization every year? I have taken into consideration the opportunities that were available in the market at that point of time into account. But just one simple question: the 30 years they  worked for their respective organizations, were not they passionate, dedicated or loyal to it? You can find a spark in their eyes showing how proud they were for their organizations, and the best thing is that they still have the same feeling after their retirement and till the end. Their organization does not give them some special benefits to boast about like ESOPs, foreign trips, but they feel attached and you can find a sense of belongingness. They miss their organization so much after their retirement that may lead the current crop of youth feel that they are lunatics.

To my agony, I miss this spark and the sense of belongingness in the eyes of the so-called professionals today. For them changing, err..switching jobs is the 'in' thing. Sounds as if Manish Malhotra has just released his Fall Winter collection and people are ready to flow with the new fashion trend. For God's sake, it's your career and there are many other things that should be taken into account apart from monetary factors for changing your job. Today's youth might have a strong point in defending themselves in this matter by saying that they are eligible and they fit the organization requirements. But dude, till how far? These Vikram Pandits, Indra Nooyis, Nandan Nilekenis and all the top shots in the corporate world has stayed in a particular organization and served for years till they earned their position. But the professionals of today do not find stability so 'sexy' or 'exciting'. If they can not be loyal to their employers then how a new employer trust them. Because, I feel, at the end of the day if you are leaving a job then the reason should be not 'just' be money. It does matter but there are many other aspects that plays a critical role while making a move in the career.

Ridiculous to ponder. But so true it is today, happening. It is just like haute couture. Fall winter, fall autumn or the summer collection, it is the new 'in' thing in the urban youth. Be stable and experience the rewards and returns of the stability. Give back to your organization , add some value, make them feel for you. Stop working as a machine and think beyond just withdrawing salary at the end of the month.

Sometimes I recall, my professors repeated one word more than a 1000 times during my MBA lectures: "Value Addition"...