Trust has a strong influence on the way employees relate with their bosses and with each other. It does not come automatically but rather earned over time and through deliberate actions. Indeed, it is true that the workplace environment, communication system, relationship with colleagues, and promotional opportunities are some of the critical elements that can influence employee trust within an organization.
The atmosphere at work can make an employee either trust or distrust the organization. If the environment is characterized by unreliability, disengagement, poor communication, and disloyalty, it will be difficult for an employee to have to trust it. This is a negative environment that will create undesirable and stressful conditions for employees. The affected employees’ net effect will tend to withhold their creativity, passion, talents, and energy. This will lead to a loss of productivity, competitive edge, and innovation capabilities.
Moreover, organizations that encourage open communication among staff also help in boosting trust levels. Effective communication can be an efficient tool for building strong relationships at work. It helps in providing feedback and conveying meaningful information that staff needs to execute their mandates virtually. It is important to note that employee trust is earned if the organizational goals are clearly communicated in a way that they can easily understand. For instance, if the organization holds some information from employees about their performance matrix only to use it against them during evaluation time, the organization will most definitely lose the trust of such employees. Therefore, to earn employee trust, an organization must clearly communicate its expectation to employees. It must tell them in no uncertain terms what they should do and the things that they should refrain from.
Naturally, human beings are social animals who will always relate with each other, either positively or negatively. Considering the fact that people spend an average of eight hours a day at work, it is imperative to have good work relationships with colleagues. Indeed, employees will only trust each other if there exist strong and honest relationships between them. Studies have shown that people who work with their best friends are likely to be more engaged in their work than those who work with strangers. Therefore, good work relationships among colleagues brood happiness and trust.
Ideally, promotional opportunities should be made available to all employees. Those employees who achieve and even exceed their targets should benefit from these opportunities. If an organization keeps its promise and honestly rewards hard-working employees with promotions, it will earn employee trust, including those that have not attained the rise. However, if the organization only promotes people based on nepotism, sexual relations, personal interests, and favors, then the said organization will lose employees’ trust. I exceeded the targeted score by 20 points in my previous organization and got promoted to the management level. The organization genuinely believed in rewarding hard work and excellence.
