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Prime Example: Work is Not Your Family
When loyalty is a one-way street, it's time to reconsider what's next.
Jen Phillips
October 28, 2025
Hi it's Jen,
Say it with me, “Work is not my family. It’s business. My job is not guaranteed. It’s at will.”
It’s crystal clear. Loyalty at work only flows one way (up). If you're still operating like your company will take care of you, yesterday was your wake-up call.
In today's issue:
Why "we're a family" is the most expensive lie in corporate America
One-sided loyalty is only good for one side
How to get your shiznak together: check your loyalty, help others, and build something better.
Read time: 6 minutes
Default
Let's talk about what actually happened yesterday.
Amazon didn't cut jobs because it’s struggling. They did it because leadership decided knowledge work could cost less. That's it. That's the story.
And what can’t get lost: women will almost certainly be hit hardest.
Again.
Nearly 500,000 women have left the U.S. workforce this year, while men rose by 400,000. Women are 1.6 times more likely to lose their jobs in tech layoffs.
Melinda French Gates said it best, “We’ve built systems that aren’t working, and women are bearing the brunt of it.”
We feel that. Deeply. But feeling it and using that feeling to get our shiznak in gear are two different things.
Business Insider found 55% of workers would choose loyalty over money. Especially Millennials and Gen Z, who just want something they can count on.
AT&T CEO John Stankey sends a clear message: "Some of you may have started your tour with this company expecting an 'employment deal' rooted in loyalty. We have consciously shifted away from some of these elements."
At least he's honest.
Workers want loyalty. CEOs are declaring it dead. And 14,000 people at Amazon just learned who wins.
So maybe…actually definitely….it’s time to stop being surprised.
This isn’t a trend. It’s a truth. We can’t fix work until we stop treating one-sided loyalty as a virtue.
So what do we do with that truth?
We stop expecting loyalty from systems that are - very transparently - telling us it’s not coming.
Then we start building our own.
Ambition
Take a breath. This part matters.
If you’re in tech right now, it’s disorienting. Your DMs are (even more) full of “Should we be worried?” and leaders are trying to sound calm while they’re anxious too.
The playbook says: be the reassuring leader. Hold space. Build psychological safety. And you do. Because you care. Because you’re good at your job.
But what if we stopped pretending work was family?
Not because we stopped caring, but because confusing the two burns leaders out.
Your company will lay you off with a minute’s notice and a LinkedIn post about “difficult decisions.” They won’t lose sleep.
The new ambition is about fully stepping into the role of CEO of YOU.
Because if you don’t design your ‘What’s Next’ system, someone will design it for you.
That’s not cynicism talking. It’s strategy.
GO | DO
Estimated time: 5 - 15 minutes a day | Estimated energy: minimal
This week, gently, gently starting to get your head straight on your loyalty and your relationship with work.
 | Where is Your Loyalty (10 minutes)Whether your company is loyal to you or not, you owe it to yourself to be loyal to YOU. Take ten quiet minutes to audit your consistency in honoring your values, enforcing boundaries, and protecting your well-being. This isn’t soft. It’s system design. Ask yourself:
What you learn here becomes input for the next two steps: your contingency plan and your culture of care. |
 | MVP Contingency (5 minutes)Hope is not a strategy, and “just keep working” isn’t job security. Today’s prompt: take the first step in building your personal contingency system. Three questions to get you to MVP (minimum viable progress):
It’s the first step toward risk management. A start. Take the win. Want to expand this? → Future-Proof Career Prompt |
 | Help Other Humans (5 minutes) A theme keeps surfacing: anxiety is conditioning us to compete for the last seats at the table. So this week, choose one way to practice connection:
Helping each other doesn't mean sacrificing yourself. It means remembering the system works better when we do. |
What’s In It For All Of Us
No one leads well when they’re depleted or anxious.
The leaders who build clear systems and strategic frameworks for themselves and their teams before crisis forces their hand.
🚨 The system is broken. We are not. And we deserve better.
We can build a better future of work. It starts with loyalty: to ourselves, our plans, and each other.
Quick favor: Know someone still calling their team a “family”?
Forward this to them…gently. The more of us who stop confusing loyalty with self-sacrifice, the faster we fix work for everyone.
Get In There
📊 Subscribe to The New Ambition: Get instant access to my full content vault: tools, templates, and frameworks updated weekly with resources shaped by subscriber feedback.
📚 If you - or people you care about were just laid off: Read Jodi Innerfield's tactical guide for your first 30 days. She's a former Salesforce marketing leader who is one of the 650K+ U.S. tech workers laid off since 2022. Her guide is gentle, helpful, and respectful.
Why women leave the workforce in their own words (CNN) Really beautiful review of why half a million women have left the workplace this year. Worth sharing.
I shared my thoughts on Amazon’s layoff on LinkedIn. Add your voice or share with your network.
Was this edition helpful? |
So, it’s settled. Work is not your family. We've got to help each other, fight for better, and build rainy day plans for ourselves. That's the work. That's the movement.
What's the one thing you're going to do this week to protect YOUR capacity while still showing up for others?
P.S. If you’re waking up to the fact that you’ve been loyal to a system that isn’t loyal back — and you’re ready to design what comes next — that’s my work. Book a fit call