Hello, Can someone who works in Hr explain to me why companies are doing away with seniority.

9 Comments

1. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:09PM UTC

   Perhaps ask your company why they are, because this is not an across-the-board thing that all companies are doing.

2. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:10PM UTC

   Sounds like the company itself has changed how they view those in seniority positions. Ask you manager in a 1:1 why you are now put at the bottom of the totem pole when you have been in a seniority position for years. Now you have to bid for your time off? Seems fishy to me.

3. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 4:34PM UTC

   I worked for a company that did that. I was told by Hr and management that it was to increase productivity; that basically people with seniority didn’t do as much because they had seniority and the people who didn’t said why bother because they didn’t have seniority; the productivity motivated everyone in the company to give 110%

4. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 7:27PM UTC

   In some cases senior workers cost more, demand more and management does not respect their value.

5. AnonymousNovember 25,2024 at 8:12PM UTC

   Thank you for the info! I work for a state agency and there is no bidding for time off. But what you said makes sense if those who have seniority always get the time off and those with less time in the company do not.

6. Kimberley Ferretti HammettNovember 25,2024 at 9:22PM UTC

   There are several factors influencing this shift and that can look different company to company, however, a huge influence here is the change in perspective on company "loyalty". It used to be common for a single worker to stay in the same company, maybe even the same role for nearly all of their career, which was considered valuable by employers. Now that it much less common, even less possible for employees. Between increased agility on the employee side and decreased loyalty on the employer side (mass layoffs, decreased support, higher demands lower wages), loyalty is less and less of a driver in the employee/employer relationship. Seniority perks were built to reward an employee being loyal to a company. There is little benefit in employers trying to entice loyalty anymore so it's more beneficial to entice higher productivity or results so they focus on rewarding performance.

   Using this method for shift and vacation assignment does strike me as odd. I don't know your industry but in some, performance could be impacted by the shifts (late shifts may be less likely to bring the same number of sales opportunities as daytime shifts, for example) and everyone is entitled to vacation time.. performance could be impacted by lack of rest.

   Without knowing the particulars that could get dicey. However, I'd say the general shift away from rewarding seniority is an honest reaction to the general shift in the workforce away from showing brand loyalty. As it trends, it does feel a bit unfair to those who worked toward that, thinking, "I work hard and "pay my dues" early on, I can kick my feet up a little and sail smoother in the later time", but I think it's not typically ill-intended, just growing pains.

7. Cindy GloverNovember 26,2024 at 5:45PM UTC

   Well said

8. Cindy GloverNovember 26,2024 at 5:45PM UTC

   It’s debatable I think.

   To me, it’s the best person for the job. No matter how long one has been with the organization. I believe it’s up to the employees to learn and grow (with guidance) into the position they wish to fill…..

9. Rachel SimonsenNovember 27,2024 at 1:44PM UTC

   In my opinion, seniority is extremely respectable but not the only qualifier for perks. Considering the notion that some newbies might be bringing more to the table in terms of productivity or leadership, it is hard to tell those valuable employees that they are bottom of the totem pole for perks which could cause them to leave the company. Also consider that a senior employee is less productive because they have paid "their dues" early on in their career might have a boss who doesnt have that tenure and therefore hasn't seen the initial work ethic that the senior employee is relying on to earn their continued merit. Because of these reasons, I believe in most cases it is more fair to come in with a "first come, first served" mentality.