> is it the 21st century, something fundamental about the industry, or the fact that software people feel they have more mobility, and thus less loyalty and patience?
I would rather phrase the question as: why should any employee have loyalty towards a given company? The main goal of companies is to make money (if they could make money without employees, well imagine that). The main goal of an employee is also to make money. People don't usually work for free (there are exceptions, of course, I'm talking here about the vast majority of works and employees). Given these statements, it's natural that:
a) companies get rid of employees that don't make money (unproductive employees). Layoffs happen every single day
b) employees switch to other companies for more money. Obviously, this is easier to do in some industries than others, but the essence is the same in all of them
It didn't use to be that way, which is what OP was trying to get at. Companies used to reward loyalty with bonuses that scaled by tenure, and tried to retain workforces that they spent considerable resources on training, even through lean times.
Yeah the main issue I see now is that the only way to get more money is to be promoted into usually management. That causes everyone wanting to be mangers even though a lot of engineers should not be. However, they refuse to pay a senior engineer who runs circles around everyone more because they are at the top of the pay band. I would be perfectly fine staying at the same job with no promotion if it meant I got yearly raises/refreshers that outpaced inflation. In reality you have to job hop or get promoted to get a meaningful raise.
Things used to be more local, and less cynical. You're of course correct in your assessment, logically speaking. But with a shred of empathy—on both sides—it is also clear that loyalty to your employer is beneficial to them, since they can rely on their workforce even if they face a rough year, and loyalty to your employees is beneficial to them, since they can rely on a stable job, even if live gives them a hard time. Both situations do occur all the time, and are just part of human existence.
So I wonder if this is either the end-stage capitalism everyone is talking about, or the community aspect got thrown under the bus somewhere.
Yes, there's also that side. You're right. When I wrote my comment I was thinking more about the classic tech company/startup. But definitely there are other kind of companies more local (and in the past they were more common).
I would rather phrase the question as: why should any employee have loyalty towards a given company? The main goal of companies is to make money (if they could make money without employees, well imagine that). The main goal of an employee is also to make money. People don't usually work for free (there are exceptions, of course, I'm talking here about the vast majority of works and employees). Given these statements, it's natural that:
a) companies get rid of employees that don't make money (unproductive employees). Layoffs happen every single day
b) employees switch to other companies for more money. Obviously, this is easier to do in some industries than others, but the essence is the same in all of them