Americans are more loyal to their favourite soft drink than they are to their employers (Reuters Survey)

Americans put country BEFORE family (and doctors third) new poll reveals | Mail Online

Americans are more committed to their country than they are to their family, a new poll has revealed.

The joint Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Americans put the nation first, then their families, then their doctors.

It also showed - perhaps less surprisingly - that they are more loyal to their favourite soft drink than they are to their employers.
beijing olympics 2008

National pride: Former U.S. President George Bush looks proud as he raises the Stars and Stripes during the Beijing Olympics. Americans' loyalty to their country has gone up in the two years since he left office

'The most surprising thing was that country, which is more abstract, was No. 1, ahead of your family or spouse,' said Timothy Keininghan, the author of the poll and a co-author of the book, 'Why Loyalty Matters'.

'There's a general belief that the government is broken, and people want to fix it,' he said.

Seventy per cent of Americans questioned in the survey said they are more loyal to their country now than they were two years ago.

Companies, however, did not fare well when it comes to allegiance. Most Americans said they are more committed to their favourite soft drink than the company they work for.

Keiningham said the findings may reflect the impact the U.S. recession and Wall Street banking crisis has had on broader U.S. sentiment.

The poll by market research company Ipsos showed that the majority of Americans do not believe that companies are doing a good job rewarding loyal employees or customers.

Only 55 per cent of employees said they would stay at their job and turn down higher pay elsewhere.

That suggests that 45 per cent of workers would leave their job if offered a 10 per cent hike in pay.

'Employers have real issues,' Keiningham said.

'This should be a wake-up call. The only way to grow your way out of a bad economy is to hold on to your customers and encourage both employee and customer loyalty.'

When asked how companies could improve loyalty the top answers included offering cash awards to consumers, replacing automatic answering machines with real people, making good products and not raising prices.