As a teenager, I started my first job in retail.
It was a tiny ballet shop, above a café, and there were days when not even a single customer would come through the doors (tell me you lived in a small town without telling me you lived in a small town).
It was the opposite of fast-paced. We wrote sales down in biro in a lined notebook. I would spend hours flicking through the dance magazines displayed on the front counter. But regardless of how much (or little) there was to do, I clocked in and out at the same time every shift. And it was the start of years of retail work as I put myself through university.
By my mid-twenties I was well and truly over it. It wasn’t just that I was ready for a change – I was also craving job satisfaction. And getting paid just for my presence wasn’t cutting it anymore. It was easy money, but to my surprise, that didn’t inspire loyalty.
I’ve since worked in a number of industries, in every role from casual to contractor, part-timer to project work. I’ve been a co-ordinator and a manager. I’ve been the most junior person in a company and the one leading a team. And having been both the employee who skips out after less than three months, and the one who’s stayed put for 6 years, I’ve noticed a few things that actually keep employees loyal to the job.
1. Trust
Trust is earned, so this is a two-way street. But having worked under helicopter bosses before, feeling my every move being watched and noted, I can’t tell you the difference it makes to know that your team trusts you to get the job done. The kicker? I’ll go above and beyond for a boss who shows they trust me.
2. Flexibility
It’s the F-word the whole world’s talking about, thanks to the pandemic. As a parent, having flexibility has enabled me to return to work full-time, which would have been impossible if I was beholden to a strict 9-5. It’s something I would find very, very difficult to walk away from. But even before I had kids, I remember the total nightmare of trying to schedule an appointment in my lunchbreak, the drama if I ever needed to leave early to get to one, the constant guilt for daring to have a life, needs, or heaven forbid – a medical condition. Knowing I can duck to the post office, go to the dentist, or even do a Pilates class when it suits me, and log back in afterwards? That’s something I’ll never take for granted.
3. Boundaries
Having worked in teams that use the dreaded red-flag phrase ‘we’re like a family’, solid boundaries will have me sticking around. No matter how much I love my colleagues, and my job, I want work and life to stay in their respective corners. So a no-emails-on-weekends rule? Music to my ears.
4. A good HR team
I once had a senior colleague who was toxic. She wilfully misunderstood team projects, was impossible to contact, and would miss deadlines so reliably we started telling her that they were two weeks before the actual deadline. She was going through a difficult personal time, so our manager asked us to just let it fly – for 18 months. The result was that our work felt like pulling teeth. Our productivity ground to a halt, our deliverables weren’t good, and the workplace culture went through the floor. And surprise surprise, most of us left. While the intention of supporting her was a kind one, it was unkind to the entire team that was forced to pick up the slack.
5. Genuine feedback
Feedback is useful – whether it’s good or bad. Personally, I love to receive it. It helps me recalibrate my approach, understand what’s working, and gives me the opportunity to right what’s not. But if it’s not genuine, it’s a waste of everyone’s time. I once had a boss who would do regular check-ins to tell me what a great job I was doing. It was lovely that she took the time to do it, but I could never shake the feeling that it was a bit of a box-checking exercise. I couldn’t work out why until I started managing people, and was having trouble with a tricky staff member who wasn’t performing well. My boss asked me to start calling her and telling her what a great job she was doing, in case she just needed some encouragement. From that point on, every pat on the back I received felt hollow – or worse, made me wonder if it was a sign I was doing a bad job. It was confusing, and disconcerting. Which I’m sure is the opposite of what it was intended to achieve.
6. Rewards
Look, I know we don’t all work in sales. Commissions and bonuses just aren’t a thing in many industries, but that doesn’t mean a small reward can’t go a long way. A birthday bunch of flowers, a bottle of champagne for a pitch pulled off well, a Friday lunch on the team after a big month – these little surprise and delights to acknowledge your work make you feel seen and appreciated.
7. Connection
There’s nothing quite like working from home for close to two years to remind you of how nice it is to actually connect with your colleagues. But even pre-pandemic, I really valued a regular team catch-up. It resets the mood, lifts your communal game, and gets you all on the same page. Win-win.
8. Investment
I'm not talking equity here - although I know some companies do offer this, and it's brilliant! But for me, I need to feel personally invested in my work to be truly satisfied. It's why retail was never going to last, and why I've done some of the hardest work of my life for below minimum wage as a dancer. Give me a job I really care about, and I'm yours for life.
What keeps you loyal to the job? Tell us in the comments below.