Practice Development Counsel

SURVEYS SHOW TRUST DECLINING IN THE WORKPLACE

An Aon Loyalty Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan Study of 1,800 workers found that 13% distrust their employers to such a degree that they don't feel free from intimidation, harassment or fear at work. Another study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide found that among the 7,500 workers studied, only 50% trusted their senior managers.

Given the importance of trust as revealed in the research, this is not good news, and firms need to find ways to build and re-build trust. For one thing, without trust, an organization's other benefits and programs will not raise commitment very much. Further to the bottom line, in companies where employees trusted top executives, shareholder returns were 42 percentage points higher than in companies with widespread distrust, according to Watson Wyatt.

We learn early in our lives about trust, but it seems it often must be re-learned by adults in the workplace. Trust is reciprocal and it is earned over time based on behaviors such as respect, sharing information, being consistent, admitting mistakes, giving constructive feedback, involving others in decision-making, keeping secrets one is entrusted with, and avoiding back-biting and gossip.

Some companies, such as SRA International, a systems consultant, now require all of their employees to take mandatory training not only in ethics, but also in respect, fairness and honesty.

As firms worry about lack of loyalty and question their professionals' commitment, it is time to pay more attention to resolving trust issues. In a paraphrasing of President Franklin Roosevelt's war secretary and diplomat Henry Stimson: The surest way to make people untrustworthy is to distrust them and show it.

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