Is long-term commitment to a company outdated?

Remember the proverbs, “A rolling stone gathers no moss” and “a tree with strong root laughs at the storm”? What do these mean to you?

While reflecting on the career paths of some of my friends and clients, I was trying to find a pattern between the number of years they spent in an organisation and the rate at which they got promoted. I realised that some who stayed in the same organisation took longer to get to get to senior positions, but did get there. A study shows that people stay in a job for less than three years. While it is natural to get a jump in salary, role, and the quality of work on changing jobs, there are some advantages to sticking with the same one.

The disadvantages of staying in the same place are obvious. You may not get drastic pay hikes, learn new exciting technologies, and may become too comfortable and complacent. You don’t build a broader network and may become disconnected from things happening outside. The management may be inclined to take you for granted.

However, there are several advantages of staying in the same job. You develop a reputation of dependability and loyalty, and build strong, long-lasting relationships. There are certain benefits reserved only for long-term employees such as sabbaticals, pensions, education benefits, etc. And it is easier to manage your work-life balance.

Yes, there is the danger of stagnation, but it can be overcome.

One way is to move around in various roles within the organisation. The first thing that comes to mind is that my manager will not be happy if I leave his team and move to another one. This could be your assumption. Once people see you are serious and have done your homework, they’d rather you leave a team than the company itself. Organisations these days are more matrixed, and senior leadership understands that.

First be clear about why you are looking for a different team or role. Think through your messaging, and be consistent with everyone.

Start with human resources. Ask humbly if there’s a process in place, then talk to your manager. Let them know that you love working at this company, but what really excites you is, for example, product development, and you think you can better serve the organisation in that role. (Of course, you’ll need some evidence to support this).

Take the help of seasoned mentors to know the best possible route of going about with this. Lastly, talk to your future manager; ask what the needs are, what sort of skills and experience they're looking to add to the team, and how you might fit into that. Suggest asking if you can shadow someone to learn more, or if they have any suggestions for courses or conferences.

A great way to boost your career in the same organisation is looking at starting or fixing an overseas opportunity. Companies are setting foothold in several continents to capture customers across the globe. Most of them want to set up remote offices, but feel more comfortable if initially someone from the home office sets it up

Staying in the same organisation also makes a lot of sense if your vision is aligned with that of the organisation. If you feel passionately about the values and the mission of the company, you can repeatedly draw from it to stay motivated and charged.

In essence, it is not necessary to always jump around from company to company just because your peers are doing so. While it may bring you short-term gains, it may be more beneficial in the longer run to stay committed to a single organisation.