Whatever Happened to Loyalty at Work

My father worked for the same energy company in Tulsa for 45 years.

Forty-five years.

He retired at 62 with something that sounds almost foreign in today’s workplace: a pension and company-paid medical insurance for life.

When he died in November 1990 at age 66, the company’s commitment did not die with him. His medical benefits continued for my mother. She lived another 35 years, passing away in December 2025 at the remarkable age of 99. The company kept its promise all the way to the end.

I have spent more than 30 years in human resources, and my father’s story makes me wonder: Whatever happened to loyalty at work?

The Promise My Father Could Count On

We sometimes romanticize the workplace of earlier generations. It was not perfect. Far from it.

But for many employees of my father’s generation, particularly those who built long careers with large companies, there was an understood bargain. Give us your best years, and we will take care of you.

Companies offered pensions designed to provide income after retirement. Some provided medical coverage into retirement. Long service was recognized and rewarded. And employees responded with loyalty of their own.

My father gave one company 45 years. But somewhere along the way, the bargain changed. Not necessarily because executives suddenly became less compassionate. The economics, competitive pressures, regulatory environment, and workforce itself changed. But the numbers leave little doubt that the relationship changed with them.

Only 14% Still Get a Pension

According to the Congressional Research Service, only 14% of private-sector workers had access to a traditional defined-benefit pension in 2025. The dominant model today is the defined-contribution plan, such as the 401(k), where much more of the responsibility and risk rests with the employee.

The contrast with government employment is striking. In 2025, 86% of state and local government workers had access to a traditional defined-benefit pension, roughly six times the rate in the private sector. Even within the private sector, the difference largely comes down to union membership: 64% of union workers had access to a pension, compared with just 9% of nonunion workers. The traditional pension has not disappeared everywhere. It has largely disappeared from the part of the economy where most Americans work.

Traditional pensions became expensive, highly regulated, long-term financial commitments for employers. 401(k) plans offered companies a more predictable way to provide retirement benefits while shifting more responsibility and investment risk to employees. The change made financial sense for employers, but it fundamentally changed the employment bargain.

From 66% to 24%: The Benefit That Nearly Vanished

Retiree medical coverage has experienced an even more dramatic decline. In 1988, 66% of large employers offering health benefits to active employees also offered retiree health benefits. By 2024, that number had fallen to 24%, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

Think about that. What my father’s company provided as part of the employment relationship has become increasingly uncommon.

Loyalty Didn’t Disappear. The Contract Did.

We often complain that younger employees are not loyal anymore. They change companies. They keep their resumes updated. They network constantly. They pursue better opportunities.

But perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Why should employees practice a version of loyalty that employers themselves can no longer promise?

Companies restructure. Jobs are eliminated. Businesses merge. Benefits change. Pension plans have largely given way to 401(k)s. Retiree healthcare has become far less common.

None of those decisions automatically makes a company bad. But they do send a message: You are responsible for your career.

Employees heard it.

Maybe what we sometimes call a lack of loyalty among employees is actually a rational response to the disappearance of long-term security.

You Can’t Turn Back the Clock. You Can Write a Better Deal.

I do not believe we can turn the clock back. Most companies are not going to restore lifetime employment, traditional pension plans, and fully paid retiree healthcare. Employees probably would not return to 45-year careers even if they did. So perhaps the challenge is not restoring the old employment contract. It is creating a better one.

The employment bargain may have changed, but the responsibility to create a great place to work has not. Employees are still giving an organization roughly eight hours of their life each day, and the best companies recognize that those hours should provide more than a paycheck. People deserve a workplace where they feel psychologically safe, trusted, and respected, and where their work has purpose. Creating that kind of life at work is not simply good for people. It is good for business.

The New Promise Employers Can Actually Keep

If companies cannot promise lifetime security, what can they promise?

• Honesty
• Trust
• Fairness
• Dignity
• Meaningful work
• Competitive pay and benefits
• Leaders who treat people like human beings, particularly when difficult business decisions must be made.

Some Promises Outlive Us

The workplace my father entered and the workplace we know today are dramatically different. But one thing has not changed. People remember how their employer treated them.

My father has been gone for 36 years, and I am still talking about how his company treated him and my mother.

That is the kind of employee loyalty companies should be trying to earn.

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Kevin Kennemer is a workplace strategist, writer, speaker, and founder of LifeatWork, with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations turn culture and leadership into measurable business performance. While he is an expert in compensation and benefits plan design and communication, his work connects a strong workplace culture directly to revenue growth, stronger customer loyalty, and increased market share, making culture a competitive advantage, not simply an employee initiative.