People tell us that trust in the workplace is a good thing… but let’s be frank, often it isn’t

Guest blogger: Kelly Drewery, Director of Talent Glue and OUBS alumna.

In preparing a few thoughts to bring to the next Business perspectives Masterclass in London on The Power of Trust, I’ve been thinking about the value of trust for organisations and the people in them.

Trust sounds great for the organisation. It creates value in the form of goodwill – lots of people trusting the leaders, trusting the brand, trusting each other. We strive to build that utopian workplace through shared values, shared goals and an emphasis on integrity.

In the work I do, I often see the impact of distrust on people’s behaviours and performance. But I also see the impact of too much trust as people emotionally fall fowl of ambiguity, downsizing, personality differences, competition, etc. There is a good reason that there is an active industry of work-life coaching to support people in picking up their broken pieces… especially during an economic downturn.

So, I’m pondering on four questions for the masterclass next week:

1. Do employees and customers gain anything from showing trust in the organisation?

2. Do organisations take advantage of our goodwill?

3. Is it ethical for organisations to build trust and then break it?

4. During an economic downturn, does it matter if employees don’t trust you?

What do you think? And what questions do you want answered by the Trust experts next Thursday? We want to hear from you.

If you would like to attend The Power of Trust Masterclass, further information and details on how to register are available on our website.

This post was originally published via LinkedIn on the Open University Business School Postgraduate Alumni Network.