Poor management can Diminish Trust among your Colleagues

Managers who compare co-workers to one another, through raises, promotions and/or differential treatment, diminish trust among colleagues in the workplace, according to a paper written by professors at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business, and University of Washington Foster School of Business.

The researchers looked at two kinds of trust: cognitive (faith in one’s abilities) and affective (faith in one’s relationship with a person).

Although cognitive is easier to mend than affective trust, employers can benefit by boosting employees’ perception of their value without pointing out how they have outpaced anyone else and by offering team rewards.

The paper was published by Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes.

Lack of Trust between Staff and Management

One in three workers have little or no trust in their management or senior managers, especially those in large public sector organisations, according to a new study.

A survey of 5,600 workers found that chief executives were significantly less trusted than line managers, with the level of mistrust increasing in larger companies.

The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) and Management Today magazine said their research revealed that company bosses had to work very much harder to inspire trust in their staff.

Senior managers in local and national government and the media were the least trusted, while those in the charities and retail enjoyed higher levels of trust.

The two most important factors for chief executives were said to be ability and integrity, while line managers were expected to demonstrate understanding, fairness and integrity, said the report.