I Do Not Need Loyal Employees; I Need Reliable Ones
Leaving is a person's right; how they leave says who they are.
This editorial English translation begins with a blunt Gen Z joke: if unconditional loyalty is what you want, adopt a dog rather than hire a person. As someone who hires, the author finds more truth in it than many employers admit. A company may dismiss someone when its interests change; an employee must likewise be free to choose a better future.
A résumé containing several employers is not enough to reject a candidate. More revealing questions are how the person describes a former workplace, why they left, whether they acknowledge their own mistakes, and how they handed work over. The reason for leaving shows what someone seeks; the manner of leaving shows what kind of person they are.
A short-tenured employee may leave cleanly. Another may spend ten years making themselves the only person who knows critical work, installing a lock and hiding the key to protect their seat. Years wearing an employee badge measure time, not professional character.
The right to leave is not permission to act irresponsibly. While accepting pay, do the work properly; protect entrusted data; do not send a resignation in the morning and disappear by afternoon, leaving colleagues in chaos. Get off at the next station if you choose, but return the key, arrange the luggage, and explain which machine is broken.
Long-term teams still matter. Trust, coordination, tacit experience, and the ability to survive a bad period cannot be purchased instantly. Employers who want strong people to stay should lecture less and behave better. Loyalty is not an upfront deposit; it is interest earned after both sides have treated one another decently over time.
The hiring question is therefore not whether someone is loyal to a company name. It is whether they keep their word, uphold standards when no one is watching, work properly through the final day, and leave without kicking down the door. Company names and job titles change; a reputation for being reliable travels much further.