Job for Life
I was a thirty-year IBM employee back in the old days of the Watsons et al. Like the old HP, the old IBM did feel responsible to the employees.
I remember one time when the project I was working on was canceled, my manager came to me and said, "I don't have any work for you right now, but stick around and I want you on my team for an interesting project that is coming up." So for a couple of months, I reported for work daily and read technical books and magazines -- the hardest part was to keep from bothering my friends (colleagues) who did have real work to do....
Another time, during a time of tight budgets, the headcount in the department I was managing was cut below the minimum I felt was necessary to do the job, so I went to my manager and said "Get me out of here!". He helped me get one of the best jobs that I had in IBM. (Interestingly, three years later the department that I had left had twice the minimum headcount that I said I could run it with.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
