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Lifers & Job-hoppers

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Job hoppers are people described to be running out the door at the first sign of trouble – real or imagined; personally or professionally.  They are thought of as the opposite of “lifers”. Lifers on the other hand are employees who stay in one company or sometimes in the same job from the beginning of their career until they retire, or at least for 10 years.

10 years.  I think about this with deep respect.  It’s a pretty long time for someone to be in a company for 10 years or more.  I think about steadiness and certainty.  I see someone rising from the ranks, learning the business inside out, being truly trusted and considered to be a pillar of the company and a role model for aspirants.  It means to me credibility and weathering the storms and stillness of the business in any economy.  Words like “loyalty”, “commitment” and “patience” come to mind when I think of lifers.  Until I met one.

I met a “lifer” who unintentionally proved to me that there is indeed an exception to the rule.  Or at least to what I thought was “my” rule regarding “lifers”.   My imagination of the “lifer” was brought to another zone of an alternate reality.

I will call her “Betty”.  She was with the organization for 27 years when I met her.  I was in awe.  (Mind you, I am sometimes naïve that way at that time.  Better readers understand that the longest I’ve been in one company is 8 years.  I consider that very long.)  She was no pillar although she thought she was, just because she stayed in the same workstation for 4 or so years.  The carpet was about to be changed that year in the whole building and yes, there were heavy marks and deeply pressed points from her desk’s weight.  There is a clear sign of steadiness of the desk being on the same spot for some time now.  She knew everyone in this large and progressive company, as well as all their so called secrets which she would carelessly share with me (and to other “privileged” ones) whenever she gets a chance.  I also learned that during the peak season of work in her department, any work given to her that entails 3 different tasks, stressed her out.   Stress is truly not good in the work environment.  The reason being that the effects of stress on one, may mean horrible experiences and uncalled for nastiness for others.  It can be scary, I tell you.   I found out too, that in such a company, lifers tend to be “territorial”.  Never throw your 1 pc of paper trash (official paper trash) in their trash cans beside their desk.  Never.

I realized that there are “lifers” who represented how I imagined them to be; who are truly engaged and represent what the organization claims to be.  And there are “lifers” who are there, who go through the motions, day in and day out, who very occasionally misses work days, but never really do any meaningful work.   They will only do the minimum they want to do (note “want” versus “can” or “should”), until I guess they know they can get their full pension and finally retire.  My impression is that in a way they are punishing themselves for being there at work, and I assume they hate their work because of the evident outcome or lack of.  At the same time, they are unintentionally punishing their colleagues, who may or may not be like them.  As I said, for some who are not so familiar with these types of employees, it can be traumatizing.  Imagine 5 Bettys in one department?

Job hoppers can be risky to hire, yes.  But so are “lifers”.  For both,  employers have to be highly capable and skilled leaders to get the best results from either of them.  At least for job hoppers, you will not be stuck with them for a very long time.  Chances are, they will disengage quickly enough before managers are able to think of a way to get rid of them, if they are not performing.  I read somewhere that job hoppers are actually very passionate about their work and thus, are contributors.  They are driven to see their worth and yearn for development quicker, and so they seek other opportunities that would meet those goals elsewhere. They may be seen as “flaky” but the quality and quantity of their output are mostly significant.  Albeit for a short time.

Lifers on the other hand, granted  you get the “scary” version, can be more costly – not so much for replacement, but for tons of man hours of managing, coaching, resolving conflicts, over-working  your EAP counselor, exceeding your target on LTD and hiring a job hopper or a temp while lifers are on stress leave because you gave them 4 tasks to do in a week.


Tagged: Abortion, antsy, Business, Career, changing jobs, commitment, Company, culture, employee, employee engagement, employer, Employment, engagement program, good communication skills, Health, hiring risks, Human resources, impatient, institutionalized, job, job hopper, large organizations, lazy, Leadership, lifers, long-term, loyalty, motivation, patience, pension, personality traits, retirement, short-term, small company, steady, steady eddie, stress, temp job, uncertain, work, work environment

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