‘Having loyalty’ or ‘Strongly be devoted’ to one’s company (애사심) [K-gen Content 1]
‘K-gen Content’ is the abbreviation for ‘Korea-Generational Content’. As an employee who was a jumpy job changer in the past, a recruiter who has hired various people for many different jobs, a human resources (HR) specialist who has experienced all aspects of human resources within a company, and an individual who has experienced being a sole side business owner — I thought it would be nice to write such content on an irregular basis.
‘Let’s overcome the generation gap!’ in our workplace. All the best to all salarymen in Korea or at Korean Companies :) And some of what I mentioned in this content may not make sense because of the cultural differences in our workplaces. I want to leave my content that way so you can feel K-work as it is.😊
*PS. I do not represent my employer or have any affiliation with my employer on this content.
I will start with a statement many may or may not agree with.
When I choose a company and they choose me, we have a ‘bilateral agreement’. We agree to a ‘commitment (contract) to work together’. So, when you enter a workplace, you experience something called ‘belonging’. It’s a little different from the sense of belonging at school. A school is where I pay to study voluntarily (compulsory), whereas a workplace is where I work for the company and the company gives me money in return (optional).
So, what’s not to agree with?
Some disagree with the ‘I chose and agreed to join’ part. Of course, physically you agreed to join the company, that’s why you’re there, but I see people who didn’t agree in their hearts and minds. When you work for a company, it means you have become a part of it. Being a part of a company is not a “good or bad thing”, it’s just up to you to make that choice.
Not only do we talk about our identity in terms of our job function or career but also in terms of our level or organization. Being part of a workplace means so many things. You’re a part of the direction the company is going, the actions the company is taking, and the business vision it has. You’re also part of the blame or criticism when negative issues arise. If things don’t change and you’re having a hard time, you may not want to be there anymore then you can leave. (LOL) The company was just not for you.
I’ve seen young gens say things like. ‘I like the company, I like the people, but I don’t agree with the decisions and the way my boss and upper management are handling things, so I’m having a hard time.’’ But what’s interesting is that the young gen who says this is saying it because they CARE about the company. Usually, young gens who are not devoted(loyal) to a company don’t have that kind of concern in the first place. They’re all about themselves and they IGNORE the company. They have the mindset of ‘I don’t want the company to affect my life, and I don’t want my life making trouble to the company’. So, the opposite of devotion(loyalty) is actually “ignoring”.
When I see young gens who have no opinion, they don’t care about the company and they don’t love it. So why did they choose that company, why did they agree and join? Honestly, I don’t know. It depends on the person, I guess. Maybe it’s just fate that connected them?!
I don’t mean to brag, but in the companies I’ve worked at, I’ve often heard the phrase, ‘You’re so company-orientated.’ At my old company, Company A, a new employee once asked, ‘You’re not related to the CEO, are you?’ No, not at all. A said it seemed like I was very loyal to the company. Then, at Company B, I had a meeting with a client, and the client said ‘Wow, you’re very loyal to the company. Do you have a special relationship with the founder?’ But even then, I didn’t. Rather, I was thinking about whether it was time to leave that company.
Just because we’re attached to a company doesn’t mean we shouldn’t leave. You have to draw your career forest and think about it. That’s when you need a blueprint of what you’re going to do, what you’re going to learn, what experiences you’re going to have, what you’re going to achieve, and what you’ll grow into next. But does this blueprint have to stay the same? Maybe not. Times change, and there are always new waves in jobs and ways of working. What was once unthinkable is now possible. So, I think your career blueprint should change accordingly.
There were some functions mass media used to do. Back then, the idea of advertising was that you had to spend a lot of money to be seen on major TV stations, building billboards, and printed newspapers. But with the rise of social media, we’ve entered the era of micromedia. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, online communities, etc. have become the popular method for Ads in the rise of content branding and personal branding. Now, it’s the content itself or the people themselves that moves the masses. Where we spend our time is where our minds are and money flows. When creating your career plan, it can be difficult to anticipate the unforeseen future. You need to take a long-term view of your career blueprint, making tweaks and additions as you go along.
Some people liken being hired as an employee at a job to being married to a partner. Think about how you met your lover or when you tied the knot. How did you get to that point in your relationship? That’s what we call a ‘meant to be connection’.
Now let’s move on to something a little more serious. In the past, divorce was seen as difficult and painful, and people looked at it negatively. But nowadays, the perception of divorce has changed. Of course, this change in perception is not necessarily a positive thing. But when we choose to marry someone, we agree to something. We agree to fall in love with this one person, to start a family, and to stay together for the rest of our lives. But work is a little different here. Work is not a lifelong commitment. It’s a commitment that’s subject to change with the tides of capitalism, where the market tells you what you’re worth, and where you can always choose to go elsewhere. But let’s remember. Wherever we join, ‘in our time is where our heart is’. That heart is love.
My heart for the company may not seem ‘loving’ in some ways. But as we put in the effort, we develop a kind of ‘love (devotion & loyalty)’ that we don’t even know we have. The ‘love’ that is formed is the love for the company. The more time we spend, invest in, and associate with our company the more we love it. Some people spend more time at (or because of) their company than with their family. I’ve seen some (but not all) people who work at bad companies but develop this sense ‘I don’t like it when others swear, but it’s okay when I swear’. (LOL)
Wait a minute! But do we have to do everything the company tells us to do? Is everything the company does always right? No, and we don’t need to. We are not machines that are told what to do. Leaders need to be smarter to work with the younger gens to create harmony. What do Millennials and Zens want?
If you’re expecting them to work with a loyal mindset like employees had in the 90s~early 2000s, that’s not really what they want, and you need to recognize that. Once that’s recognized, a lot of things can change. Maybe the young gens aren’t the problem, the problem may be the leaders and decision-makers. The problem with the older generation is that they may be more devoted to the company in some ways, but they may also be more arrogant, thinking that what they do or how they do it is always right. They need to let go of that a little bit. The moment the older gens leave the company, they find themselves in a state where they’re not accepted by anyone. This is because they haven’t thought about their identity at work. Sorry, it’s just like a big fish in a small pond.
They seriously need to think beyond the areas where they contribute to the company and earn respect. What if you suddenly have no place to go to work tomorrow, how do you want to be identified in society? They need to look at themselves with profound insight and meta-cognition beyond just how they should make a living, starting with, ‘Will the juniors in the company want to find me after I retire?’.
You’ll see that good leaders start by providing direction, and then continue to make sure that the younger gens are aware of what steps they need to take in the job and what they need to study. This way, young gens will make choices that are aligned with their growth, which is helping the company grow in the direction it wants to go. The key word here is ‘listening’. You need to listen to young gens. If you do listen and you don’t think they’re right, then that’s when you can give them advice. This kind of leadership creates an organizational culture for the team and company. And I think it’s important to create opportunities for young gens to keep coming up with ideas and then to let them execute. That’ll make it a win-win situation. The young gens will grow, their department and boss will get praised, and the company will grow. It’s a virtuous circle.
We’re seeing a huge rise in the popularity of buying stocks/property, doing side hustles, and entrepreneurship - as people realize that a salaried career doesn’t guarantee secured last years. However, we all know that we need to work up to some point to achieve true financial freedom. So let me make a point here.
I’m reminded that there’s one area that people who have achieved financial freedom don’t emphasize that much. The truth is that it’s more effective to be successful at your current job than it is to take on a side hustle, so prove yourself in that marketplace and you can move on to a new job with a higher salary. With your side gig, you’ll probably make around 200,000 to 2 million Korean Won a month. In a year, that’s 2.4 to 24 million Korean Won. But to do this, you need to study that field outside of work, you have to stay on top of your extra taxes, you need to take courses, and sometimes stay up all night working on that job.
But what if you change your main job? Nowadays, it’s common for people to change jobs after two to four years. (The 2023 average tenure at one company is 6.6 years in Korea.) If you’re recognized and proven in your field, companies will keep contacting you, and you’ll see 10–30% salary increases when you change jobs. The most shocking experience I saw was a sales rep who got a 50% raise. I’m not saying that you should change jobs often, but it’s never too late to start a side hustle when you reach a point where you don’t see a mountain to climb. Of course, it’s different if you’re thinking, ‘I’m going to turn this side hustle into a full-time job later!’
I may sound a bit harsh and old. Now let me conclude.
Young people, be affectionate. Don’t disrespect the company. If I’ve been spending so much time at work, swearing, and thinking that I wasn’t being selfish - let’s realize I was. It’s a relationship where - because the company is there I am fulfilled, and because I am there the company is fulfilled too. Let’s raise our net worth for economic freedom!
If you’re the older generation, this is a good time to look at yourself. Have I been a listening leader? Maybe those young people you don’t understand were uniquely showing their affection. Ask yourself - If I keep acting like this, will I be respected after I retire? If you’re awakened to learn that the young people weren’t the problem, but you were the problem. Then now you’re the true wise leader of our time.
By. Esther Kang
Email: ehunter.kang@gmail.com
Click HERE to see the Korean Version of this column.
