Building customer loyalty begins with employees Americans work more hours than workers in any other country. Debbie Cohen, a senior work/life strategy consultant at Bright Horizons Family Solutions, found that U.S. workers average 1,966 hours per year, followed by Japan (1,899 hours) and England (1,731 hours). Countries in which people work the fewest hours were Sweden (1,552 hours) and Norway (1,399 hours). Cohen told the Chicago Tribune that despite all of the technological tools available to make work easier and more efficient, Americans continue to spend more hours working. More work hours may explain why the productivity of Americans continues to increase. One of the concerns among Federal Reserve officials, reported USA Today, is that high productivity will continue to stifle the job market and that prices will remain low or will fall. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates that many of the 2.7 million jobs lost since 2001 were a result of permanent changes in the U.S. economy. Many of these jobs won't be coming back. The study found that during the 2001 recession permanent job losses predominated over temporary layoffs. In most industries, losses continued even during the economic recovery. (The recession officially ended in November 2001.) The study also indicated that creation of new jobs takes longer than bringing back laid-off workers. This can pose major risks during periods of economic uncertainty and weak financial markets. One different trend federal economists identified during the most recent recession is that jobs are relocating from industry to industry and they are not being reclaimed by the same industries that lost them. Employee loyalty still low During 2000-2003 one in five people (18 percent) in a Rutgers University/University of Connecticut study reported they had been laid off. The study, "The Disposable Worker: Living in a Job-Loss Economy," found people are remaining out of work for a longer period than in previous recessions. Forty percent of the people who were laid off were concerned it would happen to them again in the next three to five years. With the tenuous nature of the job market and the increasing number of layoffs, it's not surprising that only 30 percent of U.S. employees feel truly loyal to the companies they work for, according to "The Worker Loyalty Report for Loyalty in the Workplace." A truly loyal employee is defined as one who is engaged with an organization and plans to stay for at least two years. The 2003 study conducted by Indianapolis-based Walker Information found that the number of truly loyal employees increased slightly from its 2001 survey results of 24 percent. Walker found no change between 2003 and 2001 in the number of employees (34 percent) who remain high risk -- those who are neither committed nor planning to stay. Fewer employees (31 percent) in 2003 feel trapped, not feeling attached to an employer, but still planning to stay for at least two years, compared to 2001 (37 percent). "Employees are assets with feet," said Walker Information vice president and loyalty specialist Marc Drizin. "They're the only resource companies have that make a conscious decision to return the next day." He said those assets could disappear along with profit margins if employers don't make a concerted effort to increase the number of truly loyal employees. Drizin points out that there is a direct link between employee loyalty and customer loyalty. "Happy employees lead to happy customers and, often, increased revenue," he said. For more: Walker Information, 39393 Priority Way S. Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46240-0972; (317) 843-3939; fax (317) 843-8548; www.walkerinfo.com. Send this article to a friend Enter your e-mail address: Enter your friend's e-mail address: Click the image below to send: © 2002 Branch-Smith Publishing