Loyalty

Loyalty used to be a major factor in employment decisions; both by the employer and employee. A person could spend his entire working life at one employer and retire there. Things have certainly changed and having multiple employers has become the norm. Now that we are working as contractors and workampers we have found ourselves occasionally wrestling with this issue. Low pay plagues the workamping world and the transient nature of the work does not lend itself towards loyalty. One of the first instances that tested my loyalty as a gate guard was an offer to make much more money for performing the same work. I did not want to leave the company for the one  offering the increased pay without some kind of notice. I was always taught to never "burn your bridges" and to never speak badly about your past employer(s). I went to great lengths to make sure everyone concerned was given plenty of notice in regards to our intentions. None of my entreaties was ever answered and my immediate company contact there seemed to care less whether I left or not. I have found in contracting that loyalty on the part of the employer is rarely encountered. We have had the rare opportunity to contract out to a company that seems to value us and shows it loyalty to us by endeavoring to keep us working. It seems that past history fails to serve as a reminder that alienating  and failing to communicate with workers disenfranchises them. In short; my friend Andy is correct. As a contractor seek out the employer that pays the most. As little as you interact out here with employers rapport becomes a secondary issue, like icing on the cake. As in any endeavor try not to garner a reputation for jumping from one guard company to the next. You'll have to wrestle with the loyalty issue just like I do. I remain skeptical that it is of much value out here.