The Erosion Of Trust In Our Institutions And Workplaces

How Our Trust Is Being Affected

The Greek tragedian Sophocles said “trust dies but mistrust blossoms.” A truism that feels very prescient concerning the last few years. Trust has been taking a trouncing.

In January, Edelman published it’s 2021 Trust Barometer, an annual survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 countries. Respondents are asked how much they trust various institutions to do what is right. It concludes there is an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust.

2020 has been tumultuous and strained in many respects: the Covid-19 pandemic, Barnard Castle, rampant racism, Trumpism, chronic cronyism, and dodgy contracts all stretching our credulity to the limit.  Have we now seen a cultural shift in the way our politicians and those in the highest office use the truth? Aren’t they supposed to be without reproach in their ethic and ethos?  And from public office and into the working office, has Covid forced a cynicism of trust from managers who now have remote teams to manage? As we look forward to perhaps regaining some semblance of normality post-pandemic, will we regain our trust in people and our institutions?

We’ve taken a look at some of the recent core events and themes affecting trust between people and our institutions.

 

Brexit And The Trust Demolition Of The UK

UK, the abider of the rule of law, the home of statecraft, Magna Carta, and fair play. Remember, the 2012 Olympics and specifically the opening ceremony? Feels a long time ago now. But this was a showcase of ‘Great’ Britain at its best. People around the world applauded with appreciation and the UK’s reputational scores skyrocketed. The UK’s global success in financial, insurance, legal, health, pharma, creative and education are all examples of industries built on the trust the rest of the world had in ‘Great’ Britain. The trust meant we could build a service sector for the world.

Fast forward a few years, post Brexit, and our reputation has been dragged through the international mud. In the eyes of the European Union, not so much Great Britain but little Britain. A dispute over vaccine supplies, gun boats being sent into the English channel, the refusal of diplomatic status to EU diplomats, legislation to break international law, the list could go on. It’s rivalry over alignment, competition before cooperation. The trust in the UK has indeed taken a trouncing. What it will take or how long it will take to get it back no one knows. In the meantime, the cost has yet to be counted.

 

Trust Of Our Football Clubs And Their Owners 

Perhaps the most mind blowing recent example of trust implosion came in the case of the European Super League (ESL) – the stunning example of how to destroy trust in the blink of an eye. In just 48 hours, 12 football clubs were able to generate one of the most disruptive events in the history of football and destroy their image, connection to their fans, the governing bodies, as well as the wider football community and game as a whole.

What was hard to believe was that the ESL had not considered the impact it’s decision would have on their paying customers. Trust was already strained between some of the billionaire owners and their club’s fans. Mistrust of owner intentions with no prior connections to the clubs were blomossing. At Manchester United the Glazer family owners were the perfect example of an uneasy stasis between owner and paying customer. A billion pound debt loaded onto a club previously proudly in the black; huge financial dividends extracted out of the club each year and into the owners pockets; and lack of investment in the stadium.

Trust will be a continuing issue for all the 12 ESL clubs – both at European and domestic level. Whatever the outcomes over the next few months, this is certainly a prime illustration of how easy it is to erode trust in an instant.

 

Trust In Business And The Workplace

According to the Edleman, lasting trust for businesses “is the strongest insurance against competitive disruption, the antidote to consumer indifference, and the best path to continued growth. Without trust, credibility is lost and reputation can be threatened.” Well the good news for business is that we trust that more than we do Government, the media, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Perhaps holding faith in business as an abstract concept is more robust than the fleeting version between colleagues inside the office. The so-called water cooler moments, whataboutery, office politics, he-said-she-said, jealousy, duplicity, and rivalry – there’s so many human emotions at play that attack our trust from the outset. We trust John Lewis as a business with a no-return quibble. We trust that they have values, high standards and are accountable, to do the right thing. That trust provides John Lewis the antidote to our indifference. But do we trust Tina from the accounts department?

 

Covid And The Remote Working Trust Erosion 

According to a recent Harvard Business Review report ‘Covid-19 has thrust many leaders into remote management which requires a different skill set than face-to-face management. While some jobs have proven adaptable, many sectors are not well-suited for the remote environment and many workers have home lives that present overwhelming challenges. As a result, some managers may be finding their roles more difficult than before — and making their  teams’ lives more stressful as they struggle to adapt.

Furthermore, according to the HBR report, managers who cannot ‘see’ their workers sometimes struggle to trust that their employees are indeed working. When such doubts creep in, managers can start to develop an unreasonable expectation that those team members be available at all times, ultimately disrupting their work-home balance and causing more job stress. This can ultimately lead to a downward spiral in which the manager’s mistrust leads to micromanagement, which leads to a decrease in employee motivation and productivity. And from the employees’ perspective a large number reported feeling that they needed to be constantly available, such as being expected to respond to messages immediately. These results suggest the prevalence of an “always on” culture for workers at home.

Without face-to-face interactions to support our professional relationships, there’s more potential  to make negative – often unwarranted – assumptions about our colleagues’ behaviours. This is a well-established phenomenon in social psychology known as fundamental attribution error. It’s difficult to build relationship connections through video and audio calls, email and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams or Slack. By using these platforms, misunderstandings can arise due to their limitations. “You might see your line manager’s or colleague’s facial expression on a Teams meeting and misread it in a negative way. Perhaps their child or dog beyond the screen was causing distress. Trust in colleagues starts to decline and fall into the downward spiral. In a physical workplace, it’s easier to get the full context and understanding and maintain a healthier balance of trust.

 

Maintaining Trust  

Sophocles was only too aware of human frailty when trust is built on a house of cards. It certainly feels more pertinent now than it ever has done in a generational lifetime. Trust in our institutions, workplace, and colleagues is something we know our Wee Shoogle customers have been contending with – taking positive action to avoid unwarranted assumptions on their behaviour when working at home.