Employees who distrust their superiors are nine times more likely to think about leaving their employers and fifteen times more likely to experience unnecessary work stress. At least acoording to a study by global HR consulting firm Kenexa called Trust Matters. 48% of more than 10 000 employees surveyed trust their superiors. 28% distrust them and 24% have no strong opinion.
Where there is a lack of trust, human resources should act. The study identified three main types of behavior that influence the degree of trust in leaders: integrity (Are they honest to me?), benevolence (Do they care about me?) and competence (Can they do their job?). Trusted behavior can be achieved by listening, empathy towards employees, keeping promises and fair treatment. If you want trust from your people, start trusting them.
The study also showed that twice as many employees trust the company's management if the company publishes its mission statement, organizes polls carried out among employees and customers, supports quality improvement activities, regularly evaluates performance and train their employees across job functions.
No significant differences between men and women were found. The percentage of employees who trust their superiors, however, decreases with age. Employees in their twenties trust their managers twice more than emyployees in their forties or fifties. Senior and middle managers trust their superiors about 15% more than ordinary employees.
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