What Is Loyalty, Anyway? Baby Boomers and the Pension Era
Baby Boomers get called loyal for staying with one employer, but pensions, healthcare, and a much narrower job market did most of that work.
Let’s talk about Baby Boomers. Often labeled as loyal, staying with one employer their entire career. What is loyalty anyway? Life in Corporate America during the 1970s and 80s shifted in many ways. Telephone operators started going extinct. Factory jobs disappeared overnight due to automation. Sexism and misogyny were pervasive. Women were stuck on one career path: waitress, teacher, nurse, secretary, bookkeeper. They had no access to credit without a man until 1974. If a woman had a career and earned income, she still couldn’t obtain a credit card, car loan, mortgage, or line of credit without her father’s permission (a co-signature). Now back to “loyalty.” Healthcare and retirement pensions were plentiful.