How long have your worked for your employer?

[NewEnglandLady]

I've been at my employer for 5 years and just redeemed my $500 gift card for my 5-year anniversary.

One of the reasons I chose my employer is because they are always cited as one of the best businesses to work for in our city. I think our leave policy is pretty norm. 4 weeks paid vacation + 2 weeks sick time, with paid vacation increasing at 2 years, 5 years, 10 years and some other increment of time that I don't know because I've only been here 5 years. But our parent company is French, so we get a lot of holidays (16). We also get a 1-month sabbatical at 10 years.

Also, we have a great maternity leave policy (for the U.S., at least). We get 12 weeks full pay + any vacation time you want to use. You have the option of coming back part-time (3 or 4 days/week) without losing benefits. I currently work 4 days/week and know I would lose that luxury if I went somewhere else unless I worked as a contractor.

 

[Octavia]

I've worked for the federal government for a little less than 2.5 years, but have been at my current agency for just over a year. Even with all the animosity out there toward federal workers (fortunately, I haven't been on the direct receiving end of any), I will stay as long as I can. My job isn't technically a permanent position right now, so I'm crossing my fingers that it gets made permanent someday rather than just being renewed for successive terms...if not, I may start scoping out other agencies in a year or two to try to find a permanent position. We'll see. Anyway, the pay and benefits for feds aren't nearly as cushy as most people believe (except for those feds who have been on the job for 40+ years and are grandfathered under older systems) but the work-life balance is great. I could make a whole lot more money if I went into private practice, but I prefer having time with my hubby every day and being able to actually use my vacation time without feeling guilty and being tied to a Blackberry the whole time. For now, that is worth dealing with the ongoing budget squabbles, not having any paid maternity leave, having strictly limited promotion potential, etc.

 

[qtiekiki]

I will have 5 years in my current position in a few weeks. I have another year at a different position with the same department. Right now, I get 12 days of sick leave at 100% pay and 5 days at 75% pay, 17 days of vacation (it's accumulate, so not a lump at the beginning of the year) and 1 floating holiday every year. I am going to be a lifer.

 

[missy]

I'm an independent consultant and have worked for the same place for 23 years but I don't receive any benefits/vacation/health etc. I also work as an independent consultant at one other place (the only other place I work) and I have been there for 11 plus years. I like to stay put and am happy in my current positions though I do not receive benefits. That's just the way it is at these multidisciplinary health clinics.

 

[Sparklelu]

I am in my 5th year in this school. I spent 16 years at my previous school. This school is a public Charter school so in addition to making more each step than I did in a private school, we also get a few perks like $35.00 per month to a gym,Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem, a free employee health clinic( no co pay). We also had a health fair in January and we got $25 for each of the 4 health points we reached. BP, non smoker, blood glucose,BMI. i lost out on the BMI. so now I'm using the Nutisystem benefit!!! A better deal I think!
We get 7.5 days added to our leave bank each pay period and can bank up to 200 hours and get them in cash when we retire.
We get $250. each year to cover classroom expenses( have to save receipts) and just Friday we got $1400. In A+ money. Based on state standards we scored well on FCATs and all other benchmarks, so we are an A+ school and get a share of a huge pot of state money.
We don't get longevity bonuses, but at the annual end of year event the recognize employees who have been there 5,10, etc a gift card to a restaurant and last year it was a photo album with pictures they dug up of previous school years!!!

 

[texaskj]

I had my 25th anniversary at the paper last August.
They give us gold pins/charms every five years. I think they're 10K.
I was tempted to take them all to a gold buyer, but I'm too superstitious. I'd get laid off the next week for sure.
Most of us would rather have the $$$.

 

[MustangGal]

4.5 years at my current company, which ties my record. We get service awards every 5 years, I plan to stick around for a Rolex at 25 years!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I just started both of my jobs. One 2 months ago, the second last month. Both are for large hospital systems so many, many people have been there for decades. Not sure what the rewards are besides closer parking spaces and more PTO. I do not plan on being a lifer. This is a stepping stone for sure. I just had a conversation with another coworker who is a bit younger than I am. We think it is a generational thing as she also does not plan on being a lifer.

 

[zoebartlett]

I've been at my school for 7 years but I just lost my job because our enrollment is way down and they don't need as many teachers anymore. My contract ends a week or so after our last day.

 

[two_little_birds]

I've been with my current employer for 4 1/2 years.

No real recognition or "pats on the back" but I do get a nice bonus cheque every year depending on the company/my performace. It sucks being Canadian though cause half of that bonus goes to the government in taxes. For example, if I got $10K in a bonus I would bring home approx $5K. In the end, it's better than a kick in the butt though.

Longest I have ever been with an employer is 8 years.

 

[distracts]

I work on political campaigns soooo... the longest I've ever been with the same employer is six months. I've been with my current employer two and a half months. You just have to network, network, network and get used to informing everyone that you're looking for a job and quickly rattling off your qualifications to everyone you meet. Because soon you'll be unemployed! If I wanted to go into legislative work, I could roll over to session with winning campaigns, but legislation bores me so terribly, and constituent services in the district seems like a job solely composed of the worst parts of campaigning.

Campaign work has no time off once you hit six months to E-day. That also means no weekends and evenings. Prior to that you get most weekends and evenings though not all, since you have to go to all the club meetings and any remotely political event. There's no such thing as "vacation time." Vacations are for suckers and offseason, when you are either unemployed, critically underemployed, or doing non-campaign work. Bonuses only happen if you win (or work for Mitt Romney). You don't get a healthcare plan either, and your checks are usually pre-tax so you have to take out the income tax yourself.

My fiance has been with his company for 7 or 8 years. He gets good healthcare, good bonuses (more than I make in a year, lol), plenty of time off, and has somewhat flexible work hours (my schedules are nonstandard but the hours are not flexible at all). So his super-steady job balances out my whackadoodle one. Campaign staffers seem to usually either burn out and quit politics altogether, transition into consulting/working for a political firm or nonprofit, or move up to much, much bigger campaigns by their mid-thirties, so we'll see what happens!

 

[lliang_chi]

With my current employer, I'll be 3 years in May. My longest stretch is 4.5 yrs and that was my first company coming out of uni.

 

[chrono]

Exactly one year today. I love this place and hope to be a lifer but I am not opposed to leaving should a better opportunity pop up. My longest with a single company is 8 years and I left only because the international travel was starting to get too heavy. No financial rewards for longevity but it is acknowledged with a department luncheon someplace nice. Being a publicly listed corporation, vacations take a while to build up but with my level of experience, I negotiated an extra week and am in the bonus and stock plan for performance. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised that we receive an annual cost of living adjustment which again, is a rarity for my industry.

 

[Mayk]

25 years and then the brand I was on was sold.. and I went along with the brand.. so now +4 years.. I feel like it's the same company but it's not.... but I didn't leave.. I got sold.. You know buy the farm get the chickens.. The best part.. I LOVE my work.. LOVE it...

 

[Rockdiamond]

I've been working for the same guy for almost 15 years!
What a butthead!

He's always getting worked up over some silly thread on PS- then he takes it out on me.

 

[Enerchi]

I've been working for the same guy for almost 15 years!
What a butthead!

He's always getting worked up over some silly thread on PS- then he takes it out on me.

Geez, you must really work for quite the hot head!!! LOL!!!

 

[Mayk]

I've been working for the same guy for almost 15 years!
What a butthead!

He's always getting worked up over some silly thread on PS- then he takes it out on me.

 

[Mayk]

25 years and then the brand I was on was sold.. and I went along with the brand.. so now +4 years.. I feel like it's the same company but it's not.... but I didn't leave.. I got sold.. You know buy the farm get the chickens.. The best part.. I LOVE my work.. LOVE it...

Forgot to mention.... I started when I was 12 years old

 

[Niel]

I've worked here 3 years but I was a contract employee for two. We get a bonus based on our salary and our performance, CATs, things like that (I'm in insurance)

You get that bonus after one year of being there.

You also get a boat load of PTO. My mother works here too and she has accrued so much she could work only 4 day weeks if she wanted to.