The fans of a Liverpool footballer, who is regarded as an “home grown talent” and by supporters as “one of our own”, leaves the club to play in Real Madrid. They are appalled at his lack loyalty. Ryanair’s boss is reportedly in line for a EUR111m loyalty bonus. The CE informs their senior Management that they view dissenting views as personal disloyalty. Board members react by deeming a whistleblower’s public disclosure damaging to the reputation of an organisation as personal disloyalty. Employees take a paycut to save their company. I don’t think any of these are examples of loyalty/disloyalty.
In an age of greater mobility, loyalty does not necessarily mean remaining with the same company. William Werther, Professor of Executive Leadership at the School of Business Administration of the University of Miami says that employers recognise the value of loyal employees but are unsure of what to do.
There are many examples of both employees and managers showing commitment. In health and social care organizations, employees often stay on after their shift is over because of staffing shortages or the needs of clients/patients. This dedication may be more about the commitment to the patient rather than loyalty to the organization, but the organisation still benefits from it. Employees in all kinds of organizations do extra work, stay late and work unpaid overtime because their managers asked them to. They are not doing this to boost the reputation of the company or increase its profits, but to meet a deadline.
If loyalty is about dedication and commitment, then the Liverpool player displayed both during the time he spent with the club. A CE who views any disloyalty by the senior management team is simply showing poor leadership. A board that views whistle-blowers as disloyal, and cares more about the reputation of an organization than addressing poor practices is leading an organisation which does not warrant the loyalty of its employees. Employees who sacrifice their salaries to save a company could be doing so to keep their jobs.
Commitment and dedication from employees can make a huge difference for a business. Executives must recognize how important it is, resist the temptation of exploiting goodwill and remember that investing in compassionate and competent managers will increase loyalty and commitment from employees.
