Employee loyalty is falling globally, according to Mercer's new What's Working survey.

Of the nearly 30,000 employees in 17 geographic markets between the fourth quarter of 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, the amount of workers considering leaving their jobs has increased since the last survey in each market, which takes place between 2003 and 2006, before the economic downturn. For most of these markets, the increases are represented by 10 percentage points or even more while in the United States, the increase amounts to 9 points, from 23 percent in 2005 to 32 percent in 2010.

"For U.S.-based multinationals, these findings are concerning, as lackluster engagement is no longer just a U.S. phenomenon," says Mindy Fox, a senior partner at Mercer and the firm's U.S. region leader. "Widespread apathy and high turnover can be detrimental to an organization's business performance, especially in the difficult economic environment we're experiencing as companies are looking to drive productivity and efficiencies."