Are you concerned with leaving a legacy at your place of employment?

I've worked at my current employer for 11 years. I really enjoy my job and the people I work with, for sure. And I hope to stay here for a long time. But, I don't care at all about leaving a legacy.

Apart from an upper decker?

legacy?

hahahahahahlololololol

Time for new material. 0/10.

My father was a CEO for a major company. He retired at age 54 and they had a big fancy dinner where he (and others) gave speeches and toasts. This was about 6 years ago.

I went to the dinner and remember his speech.

Anyway, I was in the car with him the other day and I asked him about whether he missed working there. He does VC stuff now, but that is obviously much less demanding.

He laughed and told me that while he missed some of the people, he felt that a job is a means to an end and that people need to find value and self worth in other parts of life. I am not sure if he always felt this way, but when I look back on it he never fit the role of a corporate workaholic. He is a smart guy; much smarter than I am. He said that he walked out of the office on his last day and never thought about the job again. He admitted to following the stock price, though.

"He is a smart guy; much smarter than I am."

You don't say?

I hope my coworkers remember me fondly, but beyond that, no. Several generations to come? Ha! Do you think you're Lee Iacocca?

Several generations? Outside of your name you would be lucky if your own offspring know anything about you SEVERAL generations down the line. It ain't happening in a business.

I worked for an organization for 12 years and left on good terms. (Major re-organization, took the generous buy-out instead of a position I was not interested in.) I occasionally will drop by the old office or am invited to join them after work for drinks. The ones I worked with are happy to see me, but those that started after I left don't know me from Adam and could not give a shit.

lmao

swooty wrote:

"He is a smart guy; much smarter than I am."

You don't say?

that you are a little late to the table on this leaving a legacy thing?

Sold my business to my staff and required them to change the name. Legacy is overrated in today's roll out version II a week after you ship versionI mindset

I've worked for the same outfit for 27 years, though I have a rare status in that I don't go into the office, which is actually in another state. But I see co-workers at various events and always have.

But the personnel, other than me, has pretty much changed. I don't think there's anyone there who much knows or cares what contributions I made (awardwinning thought they be). They're not my allies or friends; they inherited me. Most either don't know what I do or they've taking our collective work in another direction and don't have the same goals and mission as I do. When I do leave, I don't think I'll be much remembered at all.

that more and more we are seeing companies the have a significant number of employees who only have presence in the company thru an electronic portal?

Are you not more concerned about your personal life the legacy you will leave them?You don't seriously believe that your co-workers care whether you're there or not, do you?

Long time employee wrote:

I have been with the same employer for 25 years and I am planning to retire in less than one year. As I see that my days are numbered with my employer, I am increasingly concerned about leaving a legacy with my employer. I want to be remembered for my positive impact to the organization, not just for the next generation of employees, but several generations beyond that. I am trying to focus on implementing programs that will have a lasting impact. Am I unique in that regard?

Are any of you concerned about your legacy at your employer?

The football coach at our school WAS a legacy. He coached for almost 40 years. They named the football field after him. He retired 2-3 years ago.

HE'S ALREADY A VAGUE MEMORY...AND SOON TO BE A MERE FOOTNOTE AT BEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL.

Maybe you should make your mark OUTSIDE of work. I suspect "making your mark" becomes a personal thing too.

My father worked for the same Fortune 500 company for 34 years. The facility where he worked generated 40 percent of the sales and 80 percent of the profits of said corporation the last decade he worked there.

A decade later, that Fortune 500 company was GONE. It was swallowed by a merger-the merged company remerged with another, a portion spun off, and then that portion merged with something else. The facility where he worked has been closed for over 20 years-It was a mine-it's cheaper to pay Peruvians and Venezuelans to dig ore and pollute watersheds than it is to have Yankees dig, and lawyers entertain tree huggers.

Dollars to donuts, your employer will be gone in a decade or two. You will be largely forgotten in 6 months or a year.

Go play with your grandkids. That's where your legacy is.

I worked at a firm that had an employee for 60 years. I knew her for the last two of those. Her picture was added to the gallery of photos of the founders of the firm, decades earlier. She was the only person working there, and likely the only one alive, that remembered them.

She rarely mentioned them, and no one ever paid much attention to the photo exhibit then, or for the past decade, with her photo and brief story in it. Most of the people who work there now don't remember her, or care and she was the best known employee for most of her last 20 years out of that 60, as she was a legend, now a blur, soon to be unknown, just as the others in the photo gallery were, except to her.

Life is series of presents, that are great, and memories that last for a bit, then they pass away, then people without those memories have new experiences that are great., etc.

People may mention the Governor of your state a lot now, but look back to the list of people who were the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th governors ago. You likely have never heard of them, or if you did, it's from a freeway or building named after them and you didn't even know whose name that was, just as the name of the freeway or building. Dorms are the same. It's Hanley Hall, or Smithfield Towers. You live there and don't know of the person in the least, in most cases.

Long time employee wrote:Are any of you concerned about your legacy at your employer?

Nope. Not one iota.

I'll answer that with a question. How often do you think about your senior English teacher?

I think in academia, athletics and coaching, or politics it might be something that that some would strive for. But for most workers not so. Our organization values institutional knowledge and all, but we're just widgets in a 10,000 employee maw of humanity.

So nahh, doesn't make a big difference. I'm totally replaceable and so is everyone else. Sure you can make a difference but not even the top 0.01% has the clout to leave much of a legacy. Now, then the two above the 0.01%, those can do that and already have for better or worse.

So my legacy will be with my family (hopefully positive) and a bit with friends.