Every Man (One) for Himself (Themselves). Is That So Bad?

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times chronicled the latest round of musical chairs among moguls in the entertainment industry. Too rich for my blood, but I paused to focus on this quote from Martin Kaplan, who chairs the Annenberg Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California:

"The era of lifelong loyalty is long gone. People don't have careers, they have jobs, and their loyalty is to their own goals, which can be fulfilled in different settings."

At face value, Kaplan's words can read pretty harshly -- dog-eat-dog world and all that. Makes people long for a world where a handshake was as good as a contract, and the employer/employee relationship implied a lifetime commitment and mutual responsibility.

The evidence is all around us on how unrealistic those expectations are in 2009. But is that so bad?

What if employees came to work each day with the intention of doing their best, because that's the standard they hold for themselves? What if the idea of being loyal to yourself meant putting forth your best effort for a sense of self-respect, no matter where you work or for how long?

What if employers realized it would further their own selfish goals to treat their employees and customers well, because their good reputation would grow their business?

Excuse me. I got carried away.

Yet, wouldn't that be a nice place to go?