Make me want to stay!

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 In response to my donning the employer's hat about "job
 hopping", Joanne Grey asked what I'd do to make her want to
 stay. As Moshe Koenig noted eloquently (the "concentration
 camp" image was particularly striking), you've got to give
 employees a reason to stay (nothing is ever one-sided). Off
 the top of my head, I use the following organisational
 criteria in evaluating a job: bosses who treat me as human,
 who give me power commensurate with my responsibility, who
 cut me some slack, who challenge me to produce my best but
 who don't humiliate me if I fail, who encourage me to learn
 new skills, and who offer something like job security.

 I've only changed jobs twice, each time initially with a
 minor pay decrease but with great working conditions and an
 opportunity to catch up quickly to my old salary. As a
 result, I'll have doubled my first paycheque within 10
 years and only 3 jobs. That's certainly not as impressive
 as what others have quoted, but then again, I'm not working
 in high tech, Montreal has a low cost of living, and I
 haven't agressively sought new positions when I found some
 place where I could be content. I'd make more as a
 consultant, but frankly, until my kids grow up, I prefer
 the security and the predictable hours.

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.