Can we rebuild Trust?

This is the scenario that large organizations face today: on one hand, individuals are being developed to be high performers, based on their personal attributes, but are unable to perform; on the other hand, modern organizations were created as network firms, based on the added value of workplace interactions, but we are facing a collaboration crisis.

There is no doubt that the COVID pandemic brought a series of crisis, including a crisis in the levels of trust. When the rates of transmission of the virus were high, people became suspicious about others: Are they healthy or sick? Do they obey the health and safety guidelines? Are they a risk to me? Can I trust them when they say they are tested?

As technology thrives in the workplace, the human facet in the future of work becomes an increasingly crucial element, and trust is the social enabler that binds people together. But what is trust? In whom are we trusting?

The main theoretical conceptualization of trust was produced by Mayer et al. (1995), who defined trust as “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party”. When talking about trust, in the organizational context, usually we focus on three dimensions: trust in my organization, trust in my manager and trust in my coworkers.

Trust is essential in the workplace, since it is the foundation on which relationships are built. As network firms, modern organizations rely on the relationships that exist between employees and teams to deliver high quality work to their clients. Furthermore, high levels of trust allow more psychological safety and honest and open conversations at work, fostering collaboration and leading to better, and more efficient, problem-solving.

Lack of trust can have serious consequences, including low morale, high turnover rates, and decreased productivity. It can also lead to a toxic work environment, rigged with cynicism, disengagement and the prevalence of psychosocial risks. 

To address the mental health and burnout epidemic, a hurdle that many organizations are dealing with, is also to address the low levels of trust that we currently experience. And it all starts with leadership.

Trust takes time and effort, but it’s essential for creating a positive and productive work environment. When workers see their managers being honest and accountable, they are more likely to develop high levels of trust. When they see an organization with a purpose-driven approach to address the challenges of climate change, inflation, upskilling/reskilling and digital transformation, they are more likely to develop high levels of trust.

The bottom-line question is: do we still have the time, and resources, to rebuild trust at work? We hope so, our future depends on it.

Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20, 709–734.

José Sintra | Head of People Strategy at VdA