As the economy continues to sag more employees are becoming less loyal to their employers, according to a recent survey.

Nearly one in four employees say they are not as loyal to their employer as before, an Ipsos Reid study found.

"Loyalty to one's employer is very dependant on recognition," says JB Aloy, Ipsos Reid. "Staff who feel their involvement is not acknowledged is more likely to become disloyal."

Disloyalty is not confined to warehouse positions, as 25 per cent of managers and executives are feeling decreased loyalty. Companies who have frozen employee salaries see a 31 per cent disloyalty rate, and companies with staff cuts, 36 per cent.

"Because these results are quite consistent across sectors, they strongly suggest that employers ought to be considering what they should be doing now in order to hold on to their key performers when economic conditions improve," adds Aloy.

Provincially, Quebec is lowest with only 10 per cent of employees in the province feeling their loyalty slipping, compared to:

• Atlantic Canada (22 per cent);
• Western Canada (23 per cent);
• and Ontario (24 per cent).

Breaking things down by age, 20 per cent of those aged 30 to 54 are seeing their loyalty down, compared to 25 per cent for both those 18 to 29 and those over 55. Gender wise, more men (23 per cent) than women (20 per cent) are disloyal.

"For us as individuals, constant economic change means that we feel always on the brink of losing control. We are forced to live in the moment, and leave tomorrow for the future," said Timothy Keiningham, global chief strategy officer at Ipsos Loyalty. "What this teaches us can be summed up in the phrase, 'What have you done for me lately?' This is the antithesis of loyalty. Loyalty requires a commitment to the future."

However, 64 per cent of respondents believe their loyalty is currently stable, and 11 per cent think it has increased.

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