The LEGO brick in the image is made entirely of 14-karat gold, and it embodies the profound transformation the world of work has undergone in recent decades.
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Between 1979 and 1981, LEGO produced a small number of these bricks and presented them as gifts to employees who had worked at the company for at least 25 years.
Today, such a brick is considered an exceptionally rare collector's item, fetching $15,000 or more.
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This brick symbolizes a workplace culture very different from the one we know today.
Job changes have become increasingly frequent in recent decades — dropping from an average tenure of 6 years to 4 years — with the high-tech sector leading the way with a particularly frenetic rate of turnover every 2–3 years.
The implication is that the relationship between employee and employer is no longer emotional, no longer grounded in commitment and trust, but simply the product of a meeting of interests.
It is worth noting that the public sector retains employees for considerably longer on average (6–7 years), perhaps because it is funded by public money and is not compelled to lay off staff in order to maintain profitability.
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Before we blame employers for indifference and a readiness to let people go at the drop of a hat, it is worth acknowledging additional factors at play.
The market has become global — particularly in high-tech — and that means relentless competition and a genuine struggle to survive over the long term.
Beyond a handful of giant corporations, it is hard to find companies that sustain their position as market leaders over the years, and as a result workforces shrink.
When employees are not confident that their company will still exist by the time they retire, their own commitment to it becomes conditional — they know that sooner or later they will need to find a new job, and they are better off choosing the right moment themselves.
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Yet there is a bright side to all of this.
Changing jobs frequently often allows us to experience life more richly, to pause every now and then and reflect on what we truly love doing, and to meet new people.
We can view a job change as a farewell to those we came to know there — but we can also carry them with us in our hearts as lifelong friends, and look forward to the opportunity of making new ones further down the road.