@dadpad,
The social contract between employer and employee has changed quite a bit in the last 15 to 20 years.
This is not to say that there ever was a Golden Age during which the loyalty of employees was recognized and returned in kind by all employers, but even for employers who are considered "good" by their employees, the concept of loyalty has changed considerably.
The development of a truly global economy has greatly increased the degree of competition employers must contend with to stay in business. Margins are thinner and room for error is much less.
"Carrying" employees until better times arrive was never easy for employers but it is that much more difficult now. Satisfied customers (employees themselves) are much quicker to trade familiarity and satisfaction for lower prices.
This doesn't mean employees should continue to comply with an outdated social contract with which employers cannot or will not comply. It does mean that they need to reconsider what is their fair contribution to the arrangement.
When someone gives you money to do a job, you should do as good a job as you can, as much for yourself as for your employer, but because an employer has been "good" to you for a long period of time doesn't mean that you owe him anything more than the work he is paying you for. If someone is willing to pay you more for the same work, the new social contract allows you to switch jobs without concern for leaving your former employer out on a limb.
Obviously each situation is different, and there is nothing wrong with someone feeling it is important to preserve a sense of loyalty to one's employer. It is also quite possible that such loyalty will still be rewarded in some situations, but overall, the new compact is based far more on the immediate present than the past.
It is also the case that irrespective of time periods and changing social contracts, there are employers and employees who act without ethics, and have little regard for honesty, honor or equity.
