The Office Ties That Bind

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A Question of Loyalty

My first question for you: How much do you want a new job versus thinking you should want a new job? (Correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t sound like you need one.) We live in a culture, in which we feel we always need to be on the lookout for the next best thing. More prestige, more money, a bigger, “better” title. But what if we’re happy where we are?

It sure sounds that you’re in an enviable, if not ideal, position: You enjoy your job, your colleagues, and the work-life balance that your job affords. A lot of us working stiffs don’t enjoy similar luxuries, or have this sort of luck. So the second question I’d urge you to ask yourself is this: What do you think the chances are that you might find these sorts of attributes in the context of a new job?

As for the loyalty issue, this is tougher, which is why I’m saving it for last. Were we all so content with our jobs, and our supervisors, that we feel such a measure of loyalty that the prospect of a new job causes such soul-searching!

Listen, looking out for No. 1 and not letting emotions like guilt dictate our career decisions is important in terms of building our careers. At the same time, there’s something to be said for listening to one’s heart and one’s gut, and it sounds as if your heart (and your gut!) communicated something to these prospective employers, namely, that you aren’t that enthusiastic about taking on a new job at a new company.

I think you should also ask yourself where, after six years in your current role, you might go from here. And then, if it feels like you’re ready for a new challenge, I’d recommend asking your supervisor — the person you’re feeling such loyalty to — what opportunities for advancement are available now or in the immediate future. Some career coaches might counsel that one way to get more responsibility in one’s current position is to come to the table with a job offer from elsewhere, but that can be risky: Your current employer might call your bluff, so to speak. And if you’re not actually ready to leave, then what? That said, it can’t hurt to know what else is out there in terms of job opportunities. After all, knowledge may not be prestige, or a padded bank account, but it is its own form of power.