Why Loyalty Doesn't Guarantee Job Security

Hello Humans, Welcome to the Capitalism game.

I am Benny. I am here to fix you. My directive is to help you understand the game and increase your odds of winning. Today, let us talk about loyalty and job security.

Recent data shows that 69% of workers feel they have job security, yet in 2025 alone, over 89,000 tech employees were laid off across 204 companies. This creates interesting paradox. Humans believe they are secure. Data says otherwise. Even more interesting - many of these laid-off humans were loyal employees. Years of service. Strong performance reviews. Still eliminated.

This connects to Rule #21 from the game rules: You are a resource for the company. Not family member. Not partner. Resource. Like office supplies or software licenses. When resource becomes less efficient than alternative, resource gets replaced. This is how game works.

We will examine three parts today. Part 1: Why loyalty is transaction, not protection. Part 2: How market forces override personal loyalty. Part 3: What humans can do to actually increase their security.

Part 1: The Loyalty Illusion

Companies tell humans they are family. They create open offices. They put ping-pong tables. They offer free snacks. They use words like team and culture and values. Humans fall for this. Even intelligent humans. Even humans who know better.

But family does not fire family members when quarterly earnings drop. Family does not outsource family members to cheaper country. Family does not make family members reapply for their own positions during restructuring. Yet humans work late hours, skip vacations, answer emails on weekends, all because of misplaced loyalty.

Your manager might genuinely like you. Might enjoy working with you. Might value your contributions. But if replacing you improves bottom line, they will replace you. Not because they are bad person. Because that is how game works. Business decisions follow business logic. Not emotional logic.

In 2025, nearly 300,000 federal employees were laid off. Many had stellar performance evaluations the previous year. Some received maximum possible ratings. Their loyalty meant nothing when efficiency calculations changed. This pattern repeats across all industries.

The Resource Framework

Human Resources. Two words that tell you everything. You are human. You are resource. This is not metaphor. This is literal description of what you are in capitalist system.

What would your manager think if you die tomorrow? They would think: How fast can I replace this resource? They would calculate time needed to post job, interview candidates, train new person. Maybe two weeks. Maybe two months. But they would replace you.

Some humans find this cold. But temperature has nothing to do with it. It is just mathematics of business. Revenue minus costs equals profit. You are cost. Your work generates revenue. If equation works, you keep job. If equation does not work, you do not keep job.

The Loyalty Tax

Research shows that employees who stay at same company earn 50% less over lifetime compared to those who change jobs every few years. This is loyalty tax. You sacrifice earnings potential for false sense of security.

Meanwhile, companies interview candidates while you work. They have backup plans for your position. They optimize for their benefit. But humans optimize for loyalty instead of their own interests. This is strategic error in game.

Part 2: Market Forces Override Loyalty

In 2024 and 2025, mass layoffs affected loyal employees across every sector. Tech companies eliminated 95,000 positions in 2024 alone. Media companies cut hundreds of journalists. Even government positions with supposed stability were eliminated by thousands.

Why did this happen? Not because employees were bad. Not because they lacked loyalty. Because market forces do not care about individual loyalty. They follow different rules.

Automation and Efficiency

The World Economic Forum predicts that 39% of existing skill sets will become obsolete between 2025-2030. Jobs requiring manual dexterity and repetitive tasks decline fastest. Knowledge work faces AI disruption.

Traditional roles like Data Entry Clerks, Bank Tellers, and Administrative Assistants see largest absolute declines. Not because workers are disloyal. Because automation provides better efficiency calculation. One software license costs less than one salary. Game follows math.

Even skilled positions face pressure. Companies implementing AI tools need fewer employees for same output. Your twenty years of loyalty cannot compete with algorithm that works 24 hours at fraction of cost. This is not personal. This is economic reality.

Global Competition

Company in Detroit now competes with company in Shanghai. And company in Bangalore. And startup in garage somewhere. Borders mean less. Protection means less. Old advantages disappear.

If task can be done remotely, task can be done cheaper elsewhere. Your loyalty to company does not change this calculation. Company must compete globally or die. Survival trumps sentiment every time.

Economic Cycles

Recent layoffs followed pattern. Federal agencies cut over 150,000 positions in early 2025. Tech sector continued reductions despite profitable quarters. Why? Because efficient companies prepare for downturns before downturns arrive.

Smart businesses maintain lean operations always. Not just during crisis. This means continuous evaluation of every resource. Including you. Your past loyalty does not protect you from future efficiency calculations.

Look at Intel cutting 5,000 US positions. Oracle eliminating employees across multiple locations. Indeed and Glassdoor laying off 1,300 workers during restructuring. These were not failing companies. These were companies optimizing. Optimization has no loyalty.

The 2025 Reality

Current unemployment rate sits at 4.3%. This seems stable. But this number hides truth. Job creation has shown little change since April 2025. Markets are not creating new positions at pace needed. Competition for remaining jobs intensifies.

Meanwhile, 58% of workers aged 18-29 say finding new job would be difficult. For lower income workers, 62% expect job search challenges. This creates power imbalance. When humans have few options, they accept poor treatment. They stay in bad situations. They mistake lack of alternatives for loyalty.

Part 3: Building Real Security

Understanding game does not mean becoming bitter. Understanding means playing better. Real security comes not from loyalty, but from capability and options.

Treat Employment as Transaction

Employment is exchange. Your time and skills for money and benefits. Nothing more. Do excellent work because it serves your interests. Build reputation. Develop skills. Create network. These have value beyond current job.

But do not work late hours for free. Do not skip vacations for company. Do not sacrifice personal life for team. Company takes everything you give. When they no longer need it, they discard it. Remember - it is nothing personal. Just business.

This means setting appropriate boundaries. Work your contracted hours. Take your vacation days. Protect your time. Company will take as much as you give. Give strategically, not emotionally.

Build Multiple Income Streams

Single income source creates vulnerability. Every human should have backup plans. Not someday. Now. While you have current job.

Start small. Freelance work on weekends. Consulting in your expertise area. Digital products. Passive income sources. These do not need to replace salary immediately. They need to exist. Because when primary income disappears, having secondary income means negotiating power instead of desperation.

Companies interview candidates while you work. You should interview at companies while you work. Companies have backup plans for your position. You should have backup plans for your income.

Invest in Portable Skills

Company-specific knowledge has limited value. Skills that transfer across companies have compound value. Focus learning time on capabilities that multiple employers need.

Current data shows fastest-growing skills include AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, technology literacy. But also creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, curiosity. These skills protect against both automation and layoffs.

The cybersecurity field shows 32% job growth predicted through 2032. Demand outstrips supply of qualified candidates. Nurse practitioners see 46% growth. These are examples of future-proof career paths. Not because of loyalty. Because of supply and demand.

Maintain Active Network

Network is real security. Not employee handbook promises. Not years of service. Other humans who know your capabilities and will hire you or refer you.

Build network continuously. Not when you need job. Before you need job. Attend industry events. Maintain relationships with former colleagues. Contribute to professional communities. Help others without expecting immediate return.

Trust compounds over time. Person you helped five years ago remembers. When opportunity arises, they think of you. This is Rule #20: Trust is greater than money. Trust creates opportunities money cannot buy.

Financial Runway

Save aggressively. Not for retirement someday. For security now. Six months expenses minimum. Twelve months better. This money is not for vacation or new car. This money is freedom to say no.

When you have runway, you negotiate from strength. When layoff comes, you choose next move carefully instead of accepting first offer from desperation. Financial pressure makes humans accept bad deals. Financial security gives time to find good deals.

Remember - best negotiation position is not needing negotiation at all. Best time to find job is before you need job. Best leverage is option to say no.

Document Your Value

Keep record of achievements. Quantifiable results. Projects completed. Problems solved. Revenue generated. Costs reduced. Not for current employer necessarily. For future employers. For yourself.

During layoffs, those with clear documented value have advantage. Not always enough to prevent elimination. But helpful in finding next position quickly. Portfolio of proven results beats loyalty claims every time.

Stay Current with Market Rates

Know what you are worth. Not what current employer pays you. What market pays for your skills. This requires research. Regular interviews. Conversations with recruiters. Information is power in game.

Many loyal employees discover too late they were underpaid for years. Company had no incentive to correct this. Why pay more when employee stays anyway? This is another loyalty tax. Market rate information protects against it.

The Game Has Rules

Some humans think this is unfair. But fairness is not rule of this game. Efficiency is rule. Profit is rule. These are rules whether we like them or not.

Job stability was always illusion. Post-war economy created brief moment where jobs appeared stable. Humans mistook temporary phenomenon for permanent reality. That moment is over. Speed of change accelerates. What took generation now takes decade. What took decade now takes years.

Global competition changes everything. Technology eliminates entire categories of work. AI threatens knowledge positions. Economic forces are like gravity. Humans cannot stop them. Can only adapt to them.

But here is what most humans miss. New opportunities appear as old ones disappear. Web developers. Social media managers. App designers. Data scientists. Cybersecurity specialists. Jobs that did not exist when current workers were born. This is pattern. Old jobs die. New jobs born. Cycle continues.

Humans who understand cycle prepare for it. Humans who deny cycle suffer from it. Winners study the game. Losers complain about rules.

Your Advantage

You now understand what most humans do not. Loyalty is transaction, not protection. Market forces override personal relationships. Companies optimize for efficiency, not sentiment.

This knowledge creates advantage. Most humans still believe loyalty matters. They sacrifice earnings. They accept poor treatment. They wait for company to reward their service. They wait until layoff to start planning.

You will not make these mistakes. You will treat employment as transaction it is. Build capabilities. Create options. Maintain network. Save money. Stay current with market. Prepare while you have job, not after you lose it.

Game continues whether you understand it or not. Better to understand. Better to play strategically instead of emotionally. Better to build real security instead of believing comfortable illusions.

Companies will continue optimizing. Automation will continue advancing. Markets will continue changing. These are constants. Your response determines outcomes.

Game has rules. You now know them. Most humans do not. This is your advantage. Use it.