Workers of small, locally-owned firms show more loyalty

A research reveals that employees who work at small, locally-owned businesses have the highest level of loyalty towards their employers.

Such workers tend to stay committed to their company even in the face of low job satisfaction.

"When it comes to your job, it is usually not just one thing that affects your commitment. You may say 'I like my boss' or 'I am satisfied with what I do'," said lead author Katie Halbesleben, a doctoral student at the Baylor University in the US.

"Our study re-affirms that working for a small and local company is also an important factor that contributes to a worker's commitment," Halbesleben added.

Higher levels of commitment are associated with less absenteeism, lower turnover and less seeking of jobs outside the company.

Researchers analysed data from 763 participants who had full- or part-time jobs, as well as a subset of 146 workers living in a rural area.

Small companies were defined as those with one to 49 employees, with the others categorised as large businesses.

More than half - 57.2 percent - the number of workers in small firms scored in the highest commitment category, compared with 40.5 percent working for large firms.

Ownership of the company also played a major role, with 56 percent of workers in locally owned firms having high commitment scores, compared with 38.7 percent in non-locally owned firms.

Commitment was strongest when individuals worked for a company that was both small and locally owned: 61.4 percent of those employed in such business scored in the highest commitment category as opposed to 46.7 percent for large, local businesses.

The study was published in the journal Local Economy.