“Most people are taught that loyalty is a virtue. But loyalty-whether to one’s friends, to one’s school or place of employment, or to any institution-is all too often a destructive rather than a positive force.”

In the present day world the foundation of all relationships is loyalty and without this virtue this world would not be as good a place to live as it is now. It is very difficult to imagine a world where loyalty does not exist. Virtues are first few things that get imbibed in us in our childhood and these lay the basis of becoming a good human being. The virtues in a human make him a good human being. If we are not loyal to people around us how can we ever be loyal to our own self? I feel that the virtue of loyalty is of utmost importance in proving our worth as good human beings. I also feel that without this virtue of loyalty in us we can not do justice to whatever we do, be it friendship or service to any institution.

We make friends in day to day life so that life is easy to live. The loyalty from both the friends is very important to keep the friendship going. If one friend is disloyal then that friend is making the institution of friendship stained. If trust or loyalty is broken then the friendship also does not stay. Loyalty works as a bond between two friends. If the element of loyalty is missing from friendship then it would not be possible in friends to share their doubts, worries, happiness and sorrows. I truly believe loyalty can never be destructive; rather it makes a person progressive.

A place of work is a place of worship for an employee as that employee is earning his bread and butter from it. The only thing that an employer expects from his employee is good work and loyalty. A loyal employee is one of the biggest assets of any institution. If an employee is disloyal to his workplace he is doing justice neither to himself nor to his workplace. A disloyal employee is a hindrance for any organization’s development. Therefore, loyalty is one virtue which is very important in all the relationships and even in the place of work.

Although loyalty is of utmost importance in a relationship like in friendship or at workplace but if it is blindly followed it can be destructive also. It can also hinder the personal development of a person. If a person working in an organization is offered a better job option from another organization but out of loyalty for his present employer he does not accept then it would be detrimental for his career development. Similarly, in friendship if one friend is doing something wrong and the other friend does not go against his friend out of loyalty then such sort of loyalty is dangerous.

The virtue of loyalty should be practiced so that the person following it should not follow it blindly. Being loyal to ones place of work or to a friend is quite credible but it certainly should not forgo other things which are also important for a person.