Loyalty to the Ladder of Success
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Co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory
Editor's note: This article was originally written following the death of Hiroo Onoda in 2014. It reflects on changes in career loyalty and their consequences for individuals, organizations, and communities.
The Changing Meaning of Career Loyalty
In the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, finding a good job with a good company and building a career by working your way up the corporate ladder was an important part of the American business ideal. Throughout my childhood, many of my friends' fathers worked for the same company throughout their careers, while their mothers often worked primarily at home. Television sitcoms, movies, and popular culture frequently portrayed the familiar image of a 25-year career followed by retirement with a gold watch and a pension.
As business practices evolved, some employers increasingly emphasized controlling labor costs and recruiting new talent rather than maintaining long-term employment relationships. At the same time, employees discovered that opportunities for advancement were not always available within their organizations. Moving to another company sometimes became the most practical way to advance their careers. Over time, these changing expectations reinforced one another, creating a cycle in which both employers and employees became less inclined to view their relationship as a lifelong commitment.
Employers discovered that it was cheaper to hire new graduates than to retain older experienced employees. Workers discovered that they were not being promoted from within and in order to move up the ladder they had to move on to another company. In a strange dance between employer and employee, decisions on both sides fed on each other and devolved into the game of musical jobs that now exists.
The Hidden Costs of Career Mobility
The cost of this dance, in other than financial terms has been disastrous for both sides. I lived in the same home from K-12 as did most of the families on my block. Today, the average American moves once every five years or 10 times by the time they are 50. With moves friendships are torn asunder, community is impossible, and the meaning of “home” disappears. For employers, continuity, talent, and time are wasted continually filling vacated positions and bringing new hires up to speed.
An Extraordinary Story of Loyalty
It was reading an obituary last week that got me thinking about this subject. A Japanese man, Hiroo Onoda, died at the age of 91. What made his obituary worth remembering was his loyalty and dedication to his career.
Onoda was a soldier in the Imperial Japanese Army, and he was the last holdout soldier from WWII to finally accept that the war was over and that Japan had lost. He didn’t holdout a couple of years. It wasn’t until 1974, 29 years after the war had ended, that he finally “surrendered”.
Officially pronounced dead in 1959, he was discovered by a student, Norio Suzuki, who was searching for him on the Philippine island of Lubang. Onoda refused to return with Suzuki, and it wasn’t until he was officially relieved of duty by his former commander accompanied by his brother that he faced the truth.
Why would someone hold out for 29 years, living on bananas and coconuts in the jungles of the Philippines? The answer is quite simple: The last order he received in early 1945 was to stay and fight. He was a loyal soldier, so he remained on the job having no other orders to countermand the one he had received.
But is his extreme faithfulness any stranger than the other extreme that we live with today?
Onoda's story raises complicated questions about loyalty, purpose, and the consequences of unwavering commitment. His extraordinary determination is striking, but his refusal to accept that the war had ended also had serious consequences for others. What stays with me is not a desire to imitate his actions, but a question about the role that commitment and a sense of purpose play in our lives. How do we preserve those qualities while remaining willing to recognize when circumstances have changed?
What Have We Gained—and What Have We Lost?
Just as Onoda discovered when he returned to Japan in 1974 that it had irrevocably changed from the nation he last knew in 1945, I know that the career landscape has changed forever. There is no going back to the business model of the 50s and 60s, nor would I want to. But change, even positive change that is sought and desired, has its unforeseen consequences, and they are not always positive.
The disappearance of employer and employee loyalty has given both greater freedom and autonomy, and has resulted in higher corporate profits and a faster rise for many up the corporate ladder of success. But we have lost what gave our time outside work a sense of continuity, community, stability, and an understanding of our place. I find myself wondering if the costs have outweighed the benefits.
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About Dr. Gary M. Jordan, Ph.D.
Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 35 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley. He is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. He’s a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents.
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