Trust

Trust – the expectation that others will treat you fairly and follow though on commitments – is a key aspect of a good employment relationship. For employees, trust develops when managers show concern for the well-being of employees, treat them fairly, and are open and honest.

Building trust in an organization takes time and is very easily damaged. One human resource expert anecdotally noted that building organizational trust is somewhat akin to building up a bank account – one reckless withdrawal may seriously damage 100 of the most well-intentioned deposits. Given the fragility of the relationship, it is not surprising that corporate downsizing had a negative impact over the past decade. Indeed, the level of employees’ organizational commitment – a factor closely linked with trust – declined markedly through the 1990s.

More Than One In Five Don't Trust Their Boss

As the chart illustrates, almost one in four employees say that they do not trust their supervisor to treat them fairly, a sentiment shared equally by men and women. At the other end of the spectrum, about one in five employees "strongly agree" that they trust their supervisor. Just over one-half of employees lie between these extremes, insofar as they "agree" that they trust their supervisor to treat them fairly. Compared with employees aged 25 or older, younger workers are somewhat more trusting of their boss.

By Size of Workplace

Reported levels of trust appear to be highest in small firms. For instance, slightly over one in four employees (27 percent) working in firms of under 25 workers strongly agree that they trusted their boss to treat them fairly. This high level of trust was somewhat less common among workers employed in medium and large firms, ranging between 18 and 22 percent strongly agreeing that they trusted their boss. Moreover, the smallest share of employees saying that they did not trust their boss were employed in smaller firms, in particular, those with under 100. This dynamic of both higher trust and lower distrust is probably related to the more informal and collegial work environments found in smaller enterprises. Moreover, many large organizations restructured and downsized their workforce through much of the 1990s, both of which are factors that may account for the lower levels of trust reported by employees in such firms.

By Outcomes

Trust Affects Retention, Morale
and Desire to Unionize

Employee trust is associated with important organizational outcomes. For instance, 41 percent of employees who do not trust their supervisor say they looked for a job elsewhere during the previous year, compared with only 23 percent of employees with a high level of trust. Likewise, trust is associated with workplace morale. While 60 percent of employees who do not trust their supervisor characterize the morale of their workplace as ‘low,’ this is the case for only 17 percent of those who have a high level of trust. Finally, among non-unionized workers, lower levels of trust are associated with a greater propensity to join a union.

Additional Charts and Information