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  "path": "/2026/05/organisations-are-not-loyal-you-dont.html",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-07T06:45:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://blog.mikeriversdale.co.nz",
  "tags": [
    "< 29: Out on the skinny branches",
    "31: You don't have to be an expert >",
    "(subscribe/RSS)"
  ],
  "textContent": "It's always a shock when I hear, or it dawns upon me, that someone is loyal to an organisation.\n\n## Loyal; adjective\n\n __\n\n> _British English, /ˈlɔɪəl/, LOY-uhl_\n>\n> OED's earliest evidence for loyal is from 1531, in the writing of Thomas Elyot, humanist and diplomat.\n>\n>   1. Having or demonstrating undivided and constant support for someone or something.\n> _Dogs are very**loyal** animals, which is why they make wonderful pets._\n> _George is a**loyal** and loving husband._\n>   2. Firm in allegiance to a person or institution; allegiant.\n>   3. Faithful to a person or cause.\n> _We must remain**loyal** to the mission._\n>\n\n\nYeah, I know, #2 is exactly what I'm talking about. I still find it strange, especially in this capitalist / neoliberal world that the majority of us live within, that people are under the misapprehension that organisations have any sense of what loyalty is let alone how to express it.\n\n\n\n\nGovernment agencies are controlled by the political whims of their ever changing / voted in masters and mistresses, and whatever the media decides is \"news\". Look at the demise of around 9,500+ jobs by the current National / Act NZ First Government in Aotearoa New Zealand - where was the loyalty for those?\n\n\n\n\nAll (?) philanthropic organisations, educational institutions, and even charities will, with much sadness and downward focused eyes, make decisions that benefit themselves when they fully understand that it causes you much hardship.\n\n\n\n\nI hardly need to mention commercial entities do I, driven by money only, just look at the tech companies around the world dumping their employees as fast as their \"AI\"+PR will allow them - Meta 8,000 people, Microsoft 8,750, Amazon 14,000, and Atlassian 1,600. In AoNZ the construction industry put 19,300+ people out of jobs, and the manufacturing companies weren't loyal to 10,000+ people.\n\n\n\n\nLoyalty should be an equal two-way path, it evidently never is, and the days of such times have long gone:\n\n  * **Post-War Era (1950s–1970s)** : This was the height of the \"lifetime employment\" model. Companies often promoted from within, and it was common for workers to spend their entire careers at a single company.\n  * **The 1960s–1970s** : Popularity of unionisation, collective bargaining, and stable economic conditions incentivised companies to maintain a stable workforce to avoid strikes and turnover.\n\n\n\nIt all began to change in the 1980s, accelerating in the 1990s as global competition, the rise of the internet, and a focus on shareholder value led to widespread downsizing and the decline of the traditional pension model. What a surprise, during the Reagan & Thatcher years it all changed and the employee became a commodity and not a person.\n\n\n\n\nUnless you want to throw your hard earned trust and loyalty away then choose actual people and not organisations, they don't care and haven't since last century.\n\n\n\n\nBe loyal to those that are in your heart, people that stand next to you, friends that are there for all the times.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n< 29: Out on the skinny branches    31: You don't have to be an expert >\n\n(subscribe/RSS)",
  "title": "Organisations Are Not 'Loyal', You Don't Have To Be Either",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-07T06:45:00.111Z"
}