Loyalty at work is a two-way street - TODAY

It is not wrong to upgrade one's position, pay

I REFER to the letters, "Ensure training provided to new recruits is not wasted" and "The early resignation penalty is inadequate" by Mr Tan Kin Lian, CEO of NTUC Income (March 26 and 31).

I would say that job-switching is an unavoidable development of the way we conduct our business. NTUC has been constantly telling us that there is no longer an iron rice bowl and we have to constantly update ourselves.

Why should employees not be constantly looking for better opportunities to upgrade their position and pay? If we do not plan for our future ourselves, someone else will. And he, she or it probably would not have our best interests in mind. Should we serve blindly until the day we are made redundant?

Loyalty works both ways. If employers do not demonstrate any loyalty to their employees, then employees too will not demonstrate any loyalty.

Expensive training has basically become just another "benefit" like a bonus payout. A company that uses the "penalty for early resignation" method just suggests that it is unable to retain employees based on positive factors.

Companies should take a good look at themselves and find out why people are leaving before a year is up, before they start blaming "unethical" employees and bring out the big, bad stick.

Letter from Dorian Goh