"22 Days"...Revisited

On Oct. 9, 2014, I wrote a post called "22 Days" that summarized the turbulent but happy landing of a friend who had been terminated and subsequently rehired at another company in just over three weeks.

Since then, Maria has been praised and promoted to management for her performance, recently earning another salary increase that boosts her total to more than 50% what she was earning before. All this in just over five months.

Had you asked her last September what it would take to achieve such status with her former employer, Maria would have laughed and told you it was simply not possible. Still, leaving her old company was not even a consideration. Her vision was distorted by a mindset that valued both loyalty and hard work.

When her old company severed ties with her, those values were challenged. Apparently those things are not important anymore, she thought to herself, and understandably so. Reluctantly she moved on, only to find a rainbow.

Which begs the question: If you have a sense that your professional value is not being fully recognized by your current company, is it worth it to you to find employment somewhere else to make that happen?

Maria's choice was made for her, but yours doesn't have to be. The blinders we wear in the name of hard work and loyalty might be keeping us from seeing a rich opportunity or two that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

I'm not suggesting that everybody jump into the job market today. But research reports that as many as 70% of Americans hate their jobs, and I can't help but wonder how many of those people are simply waiting for their hard work and loyalty to pay off. For some it never will. If you are one of them...is that okay with you?