Economic Crisis Raising Employee Loyalty at Companies

A new study has found that the global financial crisis has greatly helped boost employee loyalty to their companies, the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said yesterday.

According to a survey of 1,030 manufacturing workers conducted last month, 78.2 percent said they take pride in their respective companies, with 12.3 percent saying “strongly proud” and 65.9 percent “proud.”

This is a dramatic increase from the results of a 2004 survey, when only 39.5 percent gave a positive response when asked the same question. Back then, 4.1 percent said they were “strongly proud” of their companies and 35.4 percent “proud.”

“The survey shows that a large number of employees take pride of or are devoted to their companies, whether they work for large (82.6 percent) or small companies (73.2 percent), as well as whether they are white-collar (82.1 percent) or blue-collar workers (76.6 percent),” the study said.

Though the overall proportion of negative responses fell, the share of strongly negative respondents dramatically increased by 11.2 percent to 20 percent this year from the 2004 survey due to worsening job security stemming from the financial crisis, a chamber official said.

Employee attitudes toward work have also changed considerably.

In the 2004 survey, 66 percent said they disagree that hard workers can make a good living, with 53 percent “negative and 13 percent “strongly negative.” In the latest study, however, those who believed so nosedived to 22.7 percent, with 77.3 percent expressing optimism -- 19.6 percent “strongly positive” and 57.7 percent positive.

bookum90@donga.com