Meet Ron Stafne, a counterpoint to the Great Resignation

There’s a flip side to the Great Resignation, and it might be embodied in one Ron Stafne.

Fresh out of high school in 1965, Ron went looking for a job and found 3M. Fifty-seven years later, he’s still here, working as a lean value stream engineer at our ceramic fibers manufacturing plant in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

What's kept him engaged for so long?

“I just say ask questions. There's no question that is not meaningful, and that's the only way to continue to broaden your knowledge,” Ron told us. “Just continue to ask for a sharing of information. I still learn stuff. Each day it seems, new things come up. We have such a unique business and product that it's just fun.”

So, in a time when everybody is talking about leaving, we talked with Ron about why he stays, what motivates him to continue working into his later years, and the sign he’s looking for to determine when it’s the right time to retire.