This week: Where is your loyalty?

These are tricky times for workers in big companies -- downsizing is up, job security is down. Investors may want a quick killing or a maximum profit at any cost --- even if it means eliminating your job. But if it wasn't for investors willing to sink money into your company, you might not have a job. To whom should corporate employees feel the most loyalty -- to their managers, to stockholders, or to themselves?

See what Tripod members had to say about Internet IPO's in the last survey. For other past survey results, check our survey archive.

A new Work & Money survey is published each Wednesday.

---

gdangerfield: I am a recent victim of corporate downsizing. I worked for a rather large corporation called Foster Wheeler. I feel totally betrayed by Foster Wheeler, in that I could have kept my job if they had been willing to retrain me in new areas. If I can help it, I refuse to ever work for another large corporation. I believe that the only loyalty that I feel in this situation is to myself. I always tried to be flexible for Foster Wheeler, sometimes traveling to project sites for weeks at a time, and often preforming mundane or grueling tasks. Unfortunately, I discovered that I am little more than a disposable resource that can be flushed down the toilet when it becomes apparant that it will help the company's bottom line. Unless corporate America starts looking a little closer at the "big" picture, this country is going to continue to lose out to foreign markets, creating even greater trade deficits than exist today.

formicacid: Be loyal to your work. To hell with your bosses, stockholders, or even your feelings of self-righteousness. DO GOOD WORK -- do better than your best at all times, and chances are that even when the company goes through downsizing, they'll still find a place for you. And even if they dont, you should get a good enough review to land a job anywhere.

Casablanca: The single most important thing is to work to excel for yourself. Make personal career goals, as these will eventually culminate into benefits for the organization you work for. I've always said to my staff that the "ring of interest" begins with each individual's own achievement criteria. Through my own experiences, many companies forget that their most invaluable resources are the people who work for them -- which explains why they also happen to be the first in line to get the can, rather than management who do the canning. Therefore, in this big cruel corporate world of ours, look after your own hide by excelling in your own work and it will shine through. Also, guard your own reputation and be aggressive in making your own excellence and work quality known in corporate circles (internal and external) that count. Soon enough, offers will come -- especially if you're not happy with where you're working.

GSReddy: Do your work perfectly. Work for yourself. Plan your goals and work towards achieving them. Achieving your goals will ultimately bring fruits to the company you are working for. So be loyal to work and cultivate everlasting enthusiasm for learning new things.

tender: I lost my job in February of this year. I worked for a boss who wouldn't make any decisions. In order for me to do my job, I had to make those decisions and suffer the consequences. I knew that somewhere down the road it would cost me, and it did. The most frustrating part was that I was the fourth person let go by him in 14 months. I wondered when management would see him for what he was -- a no talent, back stabbing, credit stealer and spineless coward.

Be loyal to yourself. You have to perform at your job no matter the consequences. I beleieve what goes around comes around. He is presently doing the same things to another employee that he did to me. Maybe mangement will catch on to the harm he is doing to the organization.

I liked what I did at the company and put my heart and soul in the job. And I wouldn't do anything different. My advice is to work hard and keep your head low.

P.S. I got a great severence package and I now operate my own public relations consulting business from home. I now have a boss who understands me and my needs. Geez, I wonder if I could ever fire myself.

kdavid: If a majority of a corporation's owners are just in it long enough to make a short-term buck, as you imply, I guess the owners only need for the company to be around for a short time. I doubt I would be working for -- or investing in -- such a company. A corporation that is in it for the long haul rewards its hardest-working employees, which increase in value the longer they stay. My immediate manager and my supervisor work hard to make my job easier, so I try to do the same for them. Stockholders, on the other hand, are kind of abstract; besides it is hard to side with someone who thinks I am the problem, as indicated by your question.

dumusrumus: By all means be true to yourself. I have read the responses so far and somewhat agree with them, except one notion. Do better than your best. When it comes to today's corprate downsizing, they will let the better person go because they know they can pay the less skilled person less -- meaning less labor costs and a more profitable bottom line in the short run.

Baron Thurlow Edward, 1731-1806: "Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience, when it has no soul to be damned, and no body to be kicked."

CindyQ: Personally , I feel that it is most important to be loyal to oneself . Do your work well, and even if you get fired due to downsizing or because of some incompetent manager, at least you know that it is not your loss but the management's.

FstCapital: If you work for yourself, it will give you the ability to do more than one thing. It's not as cumbersome as having multiple jobs, but when something fails to pan out you have other things to hold you afloat. I'm sure not all corporations are as bad with people as in this case, but there are quite a few.

TDuffy: Look out for number one.

Moneyman: I understand perfectly what some of you are saying. We are under constant stress to do more work than there are people to handle. We do not receive necessary training to do the job but we are expected to do it. Your first loyalty must be to yourself and your family. People do not have careers anymore, just jobs. I am even effected more by double standards in my workplace due to subtle racism. This sometimes causes me not to give the effort that I could give at work.

Poppa: I REALLY agree with Casablanca. The most important thing is to do a great job and take it as far as you can. Challenge your boss and challenge yourself! Never forget why you're in the business in the first place, and don't let anyone mess with your reputation or with your personal goals.

heroine: I recently started a "work portfolio" and I really wish that I had started it earlier. It contains paper copies of my major contributions -- memos, reports, strategic plans, you name it. The portfolio basically reminds me of the significance of my contributions to each of the places I've worked. It says a lot more than my resume or salary history could ever say. By putting it in one place, I don't have to go scrounging through my files, looking for missing pieces. It also serves as a very good way for me to check if I'm really meeting my personal career goals, or just working on something because I need to pay the bills.

dkolay: All this talk of me me me is very disturbing. Few people take the time to develop a personal sense of ethics. Four guides: 1) Will my decision hurt anyone?; 2) Is my decision benefical to all concerned?; 3) Is it the truth?; 4) Would I want to see my decision printed in the NY Times? Things like ratting on fellow employees to management, whistle-blowing and trying to keep the company going in a positive direction can get you canned. But at least-- if and when you are -- if you've done the right thing, you can live with yourself.

Mamasan: The only way to work is to be loyal to all. The only way to do this is to do the best you can. Learn what you can -- and know that if you do get cut, you have not wasted your time but have grown in the process.