I started working for my first major company when I was 18 years old. I entered the corporate world with next to no experience but knew I had the opportunity for “improvement”. For 3 years I sacrificed holidays, weekends, etc making much less than my coworkers. I never received a raise or a promotion even though I was considered “one of the best” on my team.
Finally, I mustered up the courage to start the long process of finding a new job. At this point I was starting to realize just how crappy the company was treating me (and my coworkers). After a few months I did find another job with more pay, set hours and better benefits, so I gave my two weeks notice. My supervisor just said “sorry to see you go” and that was it. I went from “one of the best” to “you are completely replaceable”. On my 2nd to last day, the head honcho called me into her office and asked “is there anything we can do to make you stay?”. I explained the long hours and lack of pay. She nodded her head and said “I'll see what we can do for you”. I left that office feeling better, thinking “wow they actually appreciate me and want me to stay”. When I got back to my team everyone knew I had been pulled into her office. They asked what had happened and I said “we discussed the long hours and possibly a pay raise but nothing is for sure”. Being the youngest one AND with no experience, everyone else knew I made jack squat compared to them, although they never knew the exact amount I made.
The next evening the head honcho pulled me back into her office and said “sorry we can't offer you anything because you discussed this with your team”…..embarrassingly enough I started crying. I was never told that what we discussed was a private matter since nothing detailed was set in stone. She dryly continued “I hope you decide to stay with us anyways”. I left her office and went back to my cubicle. I gathered up all my stuff, said goodbye to my team, and walked out the door.
I left that job for another corporate job, which more or less turned out the same. You are just another number in their system. Your needs or wants dont matter. You could spend 20 years being loyal only to be replaced in a matter of seconds. The moment a company realizes that you won't bend 100% to their will, they will throw you under the bus and run over you multiple times.