Most of those who wrote to our Crosstalk section said they don't have much loyalty left. That's particularly true for those who worked in defense or in other areas that have seen lots of consolidation and job cutting.

That isn't surprising, given the increased mobility of American society. Attitudes about loyalty of all types, not just jobs, have certainly changed over the past couple of decades.

Given the rate of change in every other aspect of the world, it's fairly unrealistic to expect anything else. Last week's decision by IBM Corp. to change its pension plan acknowledged that fact. IBM changed to a cash-balance plan because it's easier to attract mobile engineers with portable plans.

But all that doesn't mean that there aren't any long-term relationships between workers and their employers. There are plenty of people who have worked a decade or more at the same company, particularly at large companies like IBM. They might not be in the majority, but it doesn't take very long to find them.

A decade isn't all that long, given the 40 or so years most people work. But if an employee or company gets 10 to 20 years of either wages or work, they've had a pretty long run.

In my recent travels, I've met several engineers and managers who have worked for the same employer for 10 to 25 years, and most of them still have a fair amount of their career ahead of them. Most of my visits have been to larger corporations, including IBM, which may be able to hold people by offering more benefits and more opportunity to take on new assignments.

There is one recurring comment from the handful of brief interviews I've done since it became obvious that loyalty was a hot button for engineers. Many of them say their bosses recognize that designers are human beings who have families, hobbies and other aspects to their lives besides work. That's worth far more than perks designed to keep the employee from leaving the office.

Work is demanding, but there must also be a realization that work is only one facet of life. No amount of financial payback or perks like Ping-Pong tables or fridges full of free snacks can make up for treating an employee with dignity and genuine concern.