Why Would Anyone Never Want to Change Their Job?

That is very true.

We have learned that most young people will instinctively leave the first and second employers even if they are well treated and learned a lot. I have had young people leave us for a while then come back because they preferred our work environment. When this happens, and employer get both a reliable an experienced employee.

you of course mean his/her talent as there are also female engineers (or does that shock you?)

You are right! Good catch.

Ownership is a pretty good motivator for keeping employees in place- a stock purchase plan can work wonders to keep motivated employees happy...

As at Enron?

As regard to private industries no such long tenures are possible.

*Too much of stagnated stay is detrimental both to the company as well as to the individuals.

When consideration of factors for long term tenures the following factors could be of influence.

*Proximity or native place.

* Good health of the company and well established market position[ monopoly, brand image etc]

* Stable Top management, managers

* Conducive work environment and good human relations, work and interaction culture and good team motivation.

* Influence of management and managers with employees.

* Highest pay scales unmatched by other industries.

* Lack of potential competitors.

*Value of employees and human resources as realized by management.

* Sound financial disposition of the company.

*Employee job satisfaction and position levels[bottom levels tend to be stable]

*Profit / benefit sharing mechanisms.

* Free hand to executives and professionalism.

*Mutual love between company and employees- loyalty weight age.

If seasons and sails are good, life could be fine for company and to employees. It is just a moral binding.

Inertia

As in being propelled out the door? ;-)

All of the above.

Lucas used to kick their apprentices out when their time was up, they told them to come back when they had different experience. It sounds good, but Lucas still made crappy automotive electric products.

I remember I wanted to move on from my first employer, I finally did so and after working for a couple of other companies, I wished I hadn't. We were riding a wave, re-building old refineries in the UK and the rest of Europe but it had to peter out so I would have had to move on anyway. I subsequently spent a long time working on power plant design and then, infrastructure. Those three demand waves kept me going for more than fifty years though.

There is a learning curve for the particularities of each demand wave, companies will have to be more accepting of this if the durations of the demand waves are going to become shorter.