Last week the American Psychological Association (APA) released their findings on the 2014 Work and Well-Being survey. While we are more comfortable at work, with overall satisfaction of about 70%, there’s a pervasive theme of distrust and not feeling valued.
The survey indicates that 1 in 4 workers distrust their employer. About half of employees feel that their employer is not up-front and transparent with them. To understand this, let’s look at what has happened since 2008. The recession hit and people lost not only jobs, but also retirement, homes, wages, work relationships and vital connectivity to participate in a mission. Organizations made decisions that affected employees—long term—and did not involve employees in those decisions. Organizations communicated changes poorly. They did not have their employees’ backs, or at least that’s how employees felt. All of this has contributed to the erosion of trust in the workplace.
In his book, Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek tells the story of Bob Chapman, CEO Barry-Wehmiller Companies, who changed employee distrust into trust. He started treating them all as humans instead of “factory” workers. He eliminated time clocks, and brought spare machine parts into the open instead of behind locked doors. “Chapman believed in the fundamental goodness of people and he was going to treat them as such.” This created a sense of belonging in employees and they engaged their head and hearts with the company.
The recession was dangerous for employees. It was scary and has had long term effects on our work and personal lives. Sinek suggests that leaders need to create a “Circle of Safety” for our employees, and that will help create trust. Trust crea
tes the foundation for innovation and organizational resilience, and those qualities could help maintain companies during poor economic times.
We all can make an impact on the organization. Here are the five things everyone should know about workplace trust:
- When we give it, we get it. It’s as simple as that.
- When we trust that others will make good decisions, they will. It may not be exactly how we would do it, but it will get done.
- 99.9 percent of the time, people have good intentions. Give them a second chance.
- When we look out for each other, we create trust. We also create connection and relationships.
- When we practice the four points above, we create a strong and profitable organization. Everyone wins.
Whether you are a leader or not, you can still encourage trust in your organization. Trust is the basis of a great culture, and leaders must find ways to involve employees in decisions and create workplaces of inclusion and not of exclusivity. Work should be a place of growing, sharing ideas and a being part of something larger.
If you are among the quarter of Americans that do not trust their employer, what are you going to do? Can you continue to work in an environment where you don’t trust and don’t feel valued? I encourage you to comment on your stories about trust in the workplace, or even email me privately. I want to hear from you!