It seems workers on four continents have grown more restive over the past two years, according to a survey by global consultants BlessingWhite.

Of the nearly 4,500 who participated in the study, 58% expect to "definitely remain with their employer through the year, down from 65% in 2006, whereas 34% said they would "probably stay, up from 29% in 2006.

Eight percent of respondents, on the other hand, indicated there is "no way they expect to do so, up from 6% two years ago.

Women and men hardly differ in their likelihood to remain with their employer, according to the findings: 59% of men and 57% of women plan to stay put.

But employees in Europe and Asia appear less content with their current job than those in the U.S. or Canada. Only 49% of Europeans and 54% of employees in Asia-Pacific expect to stick with their employer, compared with 60% of Americans.

Assuming you have a choice, do you plan to remain with your organization through the 2008 year?

Perhaps ominously for European employers, more than one in ten of their workers said there is "no way they will stay.

The regional findings may be interpreted in different ways, acknowledged Christopher Rice, CEO of BlessingWhite. "They may mean more people are taking control over their destiny and plan to do more to manage their career. As likely, their disengagement may reflect pessimism with the uncertainty in the global economy. In either case, employers would be wise to take notice.

But the best workers tend to be mobile in any economic situation, Rice cautioned. "People keep on with their employer not necessarily because of the money or benefits. We find that top performers are the same worldwide. If management doesn't provide employees with the opportunity to make a difference for the enterprise, engage in work that's interesting or worthwhile, and pursue their personal development, these same individuals are going to take their knowledge and skills elsewhere.

Senior management has to address engagement issues in a comprehensive way, believes Rice. "But even solitary efforts help, at least to some degree. The objective is to minimize undesirable turnover and hold onto the best workers.

North America accounted for 71% of the respondents, Europe for 13% and Asia/Pacific for 13%. A majority of the respondents were managers, supervisors or above. More than 90% had already been with their employer at least one year. Respondents were evenly split among men and women. BlessingWhite conducted the employee engagement survey in December 2007 and January 2008.

BlessingWhite is a global consulting firm dedicated to creating sustainable high-performance organizations. Based in Princeton, NJ, with locations in London, Chicago, San Francisco and Melbourne, the firm has worked with almost three million professionals in thousands of organizations since its founding in 1973. www.blessingwhite.com