Loyalty may be coming back to the workplace

Is loyalty, which became the dreaded "L" word among Generation X, the comeback kid in the workplace?

Perhaps, according to a recent survey by the staffing company Spherion Corp.

A greater number of employees define loyalty as being willing to stay with an employer for the long haul — 76 percent in 2007, compared with 71 percent in 2002, according to the poll.

And higher numbers of employees see a connection between longevity on the job and career advancement, 50 percent in 2007 versus 44 percent in 2002.

While companies with retention problems might take some comfort from the survey, they shouldn't get carried away according to Loretta Penn, a vice president of Spherion, a Florida-based company.

The younger workers are more willing to consider sticking around, Penn says, but that sentiment may be based on temporary events, such as the uncertain economy and the talent shortage, which gives some workers more leverage in their current jobs.

"It doesn't mean they aren't going," she says. "It means that they aren't going as quickly because they have other things under consideration."

For more on Spherion's "2007 Emerging Workforce Study" go to www.spherion.com.