Loyalty and Value

(Est. Reading Time: 5 min)    

Do you value yourself? What about your time? Have you any value in your friends? Family? Pets?

What about the company you work for? Not everyone has the luxury of valuing their employer, but do you? And do they value you?

Oh, and what about money? Is that valuable to you?

I hope you answer yes to these questions, because there isn't an upside to answering no. Think about that. When you don't value any one of those things, what does that mean?

Well, that thought process is exactly what led me to define strict guidelines for interviewing. When I am talking with a hiring team, I am not just being interviewed, I am also interviewing them. Fit goes both ways. And fit, to me, doesn't compromise my values. So here are my rules:

1) I must be compensated fairly.

This one is about them valuing me and my time. Fair is not even a specific amount. It's based on my experience and skill set (which is always growing), versus the job that I will be doing, and let's not forget the job market itself. I generally figure out if this box is checked before or during the initial screening call.

2) I value a work-life balance.

Values that apply here are myself, my time, my family, friends, and pets. Also, this covers my employer value. I'm not fresh out of high school or college. I have a couple decades of adulting under my belt. I have a daughter, and I want to have a strong presence in her life, and participate equally in raising her. No employer should consider themselves to be more important than my family or friends.

I could not respect or value any employer who didn't think it was fair that I might flex on the traditional 9 to 5 occasionally for doctor appointments and school functions. It's not like I won't get my commitments done. That's what adults are supposed to do. My personal time is more valuable to me than any professional time, but it doesn't mean I am not passionate about what I do and what has to get done. Trust that I will do what I am committed to doing, and if you pay me to do a job, it will get done.

3) The work I do has to pass the grade school career day check.

This touches on a value I have yet to mention: others valuing me. It's a reciprocal value. How others respect me can affect how others respect those who are associated with me. Let's break down how I measure this, though.

First, let's imagine you work in the adult entertainment industry. I honestly believe there is nothing wrong with that, but I do believe you don't want to share anecdotes and work stories with 2nd graders on career day if you work in that industry. It's doable, though, you just have to take some liberties in explaining what you do. Ok, that's a pretty gray area to be in, let's look at something more concrete.

Let's say you work for a tobacco company, specifically in marketing, and even worse, a special section of marketing toward youth. Could you imagine going to career day and using it to hook those kids on smoking? What are even the upsides to that job? It can't be the stats... 8 million people die each year from smoking, whether from lung cancer, COPD, heart attack, stroke, vascular disease, fires and burns, infant/prenatal harm, second hand smoke, etc... Those stats don't bother some people, but it bothers me, and I have to deal with myself 24/7/365.

Ok, but what would it take for you to budge on these rules?

At the time of writing that, I will have been unemployed for over a year and a half. I've had 15 different companies that I have interviewed with. Everything financial in my life is strained to its utmost, and stress for myself and my family is at an all-time high. A little money coming in from being a "Predatory Payday Loan Officer" wouldn't be that bad, albeit just temporary, right? Wrong.

If I put anything on my resume that breaks these rules, then no interviewer will take me seriously when I explain these rules. I'm instantly a hypocrite, and trust issues develop. I won't be happy with myself, or the work I am doing, either. I would get instant burnout on the first day, and for what? A paycheck?

I mean, that's the agreement we make when we work. When we have a job, our employer will compensate us for doing that job. That job means the company needed work done and they were willing to pay money to see that it gets done. No company hires someone "just because". Companies hire people because they have work that needs to be done to drive revenue. There is tangible value in the arrangement, and usually results in money generation for both parties.

But money isn't the only thing valuable. I would rather be broke and living cramped with my family and pets in the spare bedroom of a relative's house, than to take dirty money from an awful organization that went against my values. The other values are what keep us happy, healthy, and motivated.

Have these rules ever prevented me from getting hired? Maybe, but no one has ever told me that. Usually, I garner a little respect when I mention these rules when asked what I am looking for in a company. But I have used them to shoot down a couple offers in the past. And even being unemployed as long as I have been, I still wouldn't budge on them.

Loyalty comes from receiving value. I am loyal to my values, and that keeps me loyal to the people and employers who help me stay loyal to my values. Isn't that what employers want? Loyal employees?