Reference no: EM133088796

Those who have been in the workforce for many years often lament the job hopping of more recent entrants into the workforce. In their mindset, leaving an employer is not something to do lightly since employers invest money and effort into employees. Many see job hopping as a breach of an ethical understanding between employer and employee. Is it?

Lifelong commitment to one employer is a thing of the past. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that today, only 28 percent of women and 30 percent of men remain with their employer for 10 or more years, compared to 50 percent for both men and women in 1973. Compensation research firm PayScale found the average Millennial changes jobs every 2 years.

While the data may represent an upswing in job hopping, some of this movement is employer-driven. Some say that since lifetime job security and benefit packages such as rock-solid pensions and perpetual health benefits are long gone for most positions, employers have broken the ethical reciprocal relationship.

Some say the ethics of staying with an organization have dissolved. They argue Millennials have changed the employer-employee relationship because they emphasize the present over the future and place a great value on daily lifestyle. Similarly, some argue that, rather than career planning and promises of long-term career prospects, Millennials need more feedback and reassurance in order to feel they should stay with an organization.

The ethics of the situation may come down to expectations and perceived fairness. The data show the differences in expectations: 66 percent of Millennials say they want to switch careers at some time in their life, while 62 percent of Generation X members and 84 percent of baby boomers say they would prefer to stay at their current job for the rest of their lives. Andrew Leavitt, a 26-year-old who changed jobs a year after graduating college, said, "I mean, what kind of Millennial would work for the same company for their whole life?" Millennials seem to prefer no ethical obligation to stay with an employer, but expect an obligation for the employer to stay with them. According to Neil Howe, the individual credited with coining the term Millennial generation, Millennials expect "the perfect employer who will be their ally and take care of them."

This type of situation-where employers give employees what they want, but employees aren't ethically obligated to stay-doesn't sit well with many employers. "We prefer long-tenured employees who have stuck with us and been loyal," says Dave Foster, CEO of Avrea Foster, an advertising agency in Dallas. "It appears that a lot of Millennials don't think that one path is the answer. This is a problem because the commitment isn't there." No matter what the difference in values, it seems Millennials and organizations need to decide the ethical expectations for the modern employment relationship.

1. define the terms job satisfaction and organizational commitment. use an example from the case to assist with each definition.

2. comment on three reasons from the case, that may cause employees to leave their jobs.

3. what are four ways in which employees may express their dissatisfaction?