It is impossible to imagine human relationships without trust. Although laws and regulations are written to restrict and clarify duties and roles, without trust, one cannot expect that they alone will cause the stability and progress of society or an organization. Can a society develop without mutual trust between the nation and the government, even though there are many laws? Organizations and businesses are no exception to this rule. For an organization to achieve its goals, its members must work together. But cooperation is not possible without trust. In this article, we want to discuss the importance and benefits of trust, ways to improve it, and ways to deal with mistrust. Stay with us until the end of the article.
The importance of trusting employees
The work environment is created based on successful working relationships between employees. If these relationships are formed based on trust, they will have exciting benefits, some of which we have mentioned below.
1. Improve performance
When managers show employees that they trust them, they feel more autonomous and empowered. Employees who feel this way work with more seriousness and self-confidence. As a result, they get better performance and work results.
In a study, 79% of employees who trusted their managers worked with more motivation. On the other hand, only 29% of the employees who did not have much trust in their managers paid attention to their work with the same seriousness and interest.
2. Improve communication
More trust leads to better and more honest communication. Don’t we talk more efficiently with someone we trust? In a high-trust work environment, employees are more natural and transparent when communicating with their managers or each other.
You can gain their trust when you allow them to talk and show that you are listening to them. On the other hand, this transparent dialogue has more benefits. For example, problems are identified earlier, and you, as a manager, are better informed about the details of the issues. As a result, you can make more effective decisions.
3. Strengthen creativity and innovation
When employees have confidence in their work environment, they are more willing to present their new ideas and thoughts. Conversely, in an environment where people are ridiculed or ignored for having ideas, voices are silenced, and no one trusts others to share their thoughts.
On the other hand, it also improves mutual trust, cooperation, and teamwork among employees. Employees who trust each other cooperate more and better.
4. Reduce stress and boost mood
When employees feel trusted, they feel more autonomous, work harder, and see their work as part of their achievement. All this makes them feel job satisfaction, and this feeling leads to a reduction of work stress. Ultimately, they will be in a better mood when less stressed.
5. Strengthen loyalty
Why would employees want to leave a healthy work environment built on trust? When their autonomy is respected, when their opinions and ideas are taken into account, and when they can receive a fair reward for their work, all this results in organizational loyalty.
How do you build a work environment based on trust?
Trust must be built from top to bottom in the organization. In other words, the role of group managers is vital in building trust between themselves and employees. You can’t just talk about trust; Managers’ behaviors and actions should be such that they show trust in practice. Consider the solutions provided below to create a work environment based on trust.
1. Avoid interfering with any small work
Trusting employees means trusting their ability to do the job. You should not constantly interfere in their work and get involved in every little issue. If you do, they’ll understand you don’t accept their jobworthiness.
Does trusting employees mean leaving them alone? No, we do not mean there is no monitoring of their work. To give a sense of autonomy to your employees, you must convey your expectations to them at the beginning of work, in the frameworks, and simultaneously be flexible. Now, you can monitor the overall progress and results. Avoid monitoring the individual actions of employees and pay more attention to the overall result. If the result is not as expected, then trends can be examined to assess why the result was obtained.
2. Make transparency part of your organizational culture
Ambiguity is the most crucial cause of mistrust and problems in the organization. Humans cannot tolerate ambiguous conditions for long. So, do your best to be as transparent as possible. Your employee must know what environment he is operating in and what rules and frameworks he uses. When organizational changes occur, keep them informed of any changes, good or bad. In this way, they are less confused and anxious.
3. Make your speech and behavior one
If your speech and behavior as a manager differ, will any trust be left? One of the most important things managers should do is unify their speech and behavior. If your organizational culture promotes its values, you should lead in maintaining and respecting those values as the organization’s managers.
Even if your employees mistakenly believe their managers are hypocrites and hypocrites, their trust will be dealt a fatal blow.
4. Create communication channels with employees
Do employees have to wait hours to meet their managers? The existence of effective communication methods for conveying the messages and opinions of employees to the managers of the collection is one of the methods of building trust in the workplace. Employees who can easily communicate with higher-ups will have more confidence in their organization.
5. Reduce paperwork and regulatory tools
Do your employees have to log in or ask you for permission to do even the smallest of tasks? If so, you cannot claim to have created a work environment of mutual trust. It is necessary to trust the employees to give them some freedom of action. You cannot create an environment based on trust with too many monitoring tools and criticisms.
What if we don’t trust our employees?
In the previous sections, we discussed the importance of mutual trust and ways to create it in the workplace. Now, we want to talk about lack of confidence. If you, as a collection manager, do not trust some or even all of the employees, how can you solve this problem? Read the suggestions below.
1. Find the source of the distrust
Trust is not a zero-sum category that exists or does not exist. Trust is a matter based on conditions and abilities. For example, you may not trust your employee to provide a product to the customer, but you have faith in his technical skills.
According to research, trust can be divided into the following three elements:
- Competence: Confidence in one’s abilities to do a job.
- Consistency: trusting one’s word that when they say they will do something, they will do it.
- Character: Trust in the person’s honesty and that he understands the needs of others and his own.
Each of these three elements plays a role in forming our trust in others. To get past general statements like “I don’t trust them” or “They can’t be trusted,” you need to ask, do I trust this person’s abilities to do this specific job? Does he do what I ask him to do? Does he understand the consequences of negligence?
By examining these three elements in an employee, you can judge him based on facts instead of speculation.
2. Find a position or job where you can trust your employee
Look for situations and conditions that your employee can handle. If you give a job to someone who doesn’t have the ability, then why blame him for not trusting you? For example, if your employee has strong communication skills, place him in a job that matches his skills. Explain to him his duties, what you expect, and transparent working conditions.
Don’t forget that you have to give every person in the correct position the opportunity to show their competence in practice and win your trust.
3. Talk about specific behaviors that create distrust
What things make you feel distrustful? Please create a list of them, then have an honest conversation with your employees about them. Maybe your employee did not intend to deceive you, but he behaved like that based on habit. Try to be as straightforward as possible in your feedback with clear examples. Your employee must understand precisely which behaviors and actions led to your mistrust.
4. Think about your role in mistrust
Are only your employees responsible for the distrust created in you? Every relationship has two sides. Therefore, your words and behavior may have played a role in creating mistrust and alienation of employees. For example, trust decreases when ambiguity is seen in tasks, roles, and interactions. Have you adequately explained to your employees what you expect from them? Does your organization have a correct and accurate mechanism to identify exemplary people and encourage them? Is your punishment system working correctly?
The answers to these questions will determine how much your management style has contributed to creating mistrust.
5. If the mistrust created is too much, make a serious decision
Finally, you have to answer how much distrust you can tolerate. For example, let’s assume that you have done everything correctly. How do you deal with him if an employee lies to you, breaks the organization’s rules, and does things against the organization’s regulations? Sometimes, it is necessary to fire him to maintain the organization’s structure and not to damage the organizational culture. Sometimes, not trusting the words of someone who destroyed important bridges behind him is necessary to maintain credibility and trust among other members.
