5. Misplaced Loyalty

Companies rightfully act in the best interests of owners and shareholders. Not you. In fact they are obligated to abide by their fiduciary responsibility or risk shareholder lawsuits and being ousted by the board.

If the company could benefit by outsourcing, automation, AI or other technology they must inform the board to decide to do so. If they can be more efficient by shedding workers they are obligated to do so. If they can scam the visa system and replace you with an H1-B serf for a fraction of your salary with no benefits they will do that too. And they will coerce you into training your new buddy or withhold your severance pay.

If you left your community and family because you needed a job, relocated to start over as a stranger, signed a mortgage with higher monthly payments, disrupted your children’s lives to start at a new school, joined a new local congregation, depleted your savings for the transition and were summarily dismissed, you alone deal with the consequences of your gamble. The company saved a few bucks and marches on without you. They never took the time to know you and will forget about you even faster. Bob? Who’s Bob?

You can buy into the company propaganda that you are all one big happy family, That the company’s success is your success. That you share the future dream together. Here is a simple way to prove or disprove the fantasy. Look at the owner’s house, yacht, private schools and net worth. If you by contrast are living an anxious paycheck-to-paycheck existence, buying the cheapest food possible, hoping your 15 year old car gets you to work one more time, forgoing vacations, watching savings disappear and racking up credit card debt then the story is just that.

Loyalty to some economic machine is misplaced. It’s not just that they don’t care. You are for all practical purposes as invisible as a copier. In fact they care more about the copier because it costs hard cash to buy and operate. They can replace you with a $50 job post. Invest in and rely only on yourself.