Employees Trust Own Manager More Than C-Suite
By a substantial margin, employees trust their own managers more than top management, according to a survey on four continents by consultants BlessingWhite.
Of the more than 7,500 workers who participated in the study, 75 percent trust their managers compared with just 60 percent who trust their organizations' senior leaders.
The split is even greater among employees in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with 75 percent trusting their managers vs. only 53 percent trusting senior management. Moreover, 22 percent of North American employees do not trust top management.
I trust my manager: North America
a) Disagree / strongly disagree: 13 percent
b) Neither agree / disagree: 12 percent
c) Agree / strongly agree: 75 percent
I trust the senior leaders of this organization: North America
a) Disagree / strongly disagree: 22 percent
b) Neither agree / disagree: 25 percent
c) Agree / strongly agree: 53 percent
BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice explained that senior leaders typically lose the trust of subordinates when their actions contradict their words. "They say one thing, yet do another. This is an all-too-common walk-talk disconnect that employees are always quick to detect. Our findings suggest that mistrust is widespread today, and this should be very unsettling because trust in leadership is essential for workforce engagement, as well as productivity. "
There is a close link between trust and engagement, Rice noted. "According to our survey, 29 percent of North American employees were identified as 'fully engaged.' Of these, 91 percent trust their own manager and 80 percent even trust senior management. The correlation is inarguable."
Yet senior management faces a formidable challenge in building or rebuilding trust, Rice warned. "Employees know their immediate supervisor, and such firsthand knowledge makes it easier to establish trust. By comparison, however, senior management seems remote. Most top executives don't regularly get to interact with employees, which puts a burden on them to take care in how they communicate and behave.
"To build trust, they need to demonstrate their character and motivations, not just tow the company line. Effective leaders come across as real persons, not just a title. Only in this way can there be a basis for real trust."
Interestingly, the findings indicate that many employees like their jobs and managers, Rice said. "But if they don't trust the organization' s top people they just won't commit 100 percent. If leaders don't act properly, the result will be not only distrust but disgust."
Of the 7,508 survey respondents surveyed between December 2007 and February 2008, 44 percent reside in North America, 32 percent in India, 9 percent in Europe, 6 percent in Southeast Asia (including Australia) and 3 percent in China. Respondents from North America and Europe tend to be older and more tenured than those living in India and China
By a substantial margin, employees trust their own managers more than top management, according to a survey on four continents by consultants BlessingWhite.
Of the more than 7,500 workers who participated in the study, 75 percent trust their managers compared with just 60 percent who trust their organizations' senior leaders.
The split is even greater among employees in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with 75 percent trusting their managers vs. only 53 percent trusting senior management. Moreover, 22 percent of North American employees do not trust top management.
I trust my manager: North America
a) Disagree / strongly disagree: 13 percent
b) Neither agree / disagree: 12 percent
c) Agree / strongly agree: 75 percent
I trust the senior leaders of this organization: North America
a) Disagree / strongly disagree: 22 percent
b) Neither agree / disagree: 25 percent
c) Agree / strongly agree: 53 percent
BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice explained that senior leaders typically lose the trust of subordinates when their actions contradict their words. "They say one thing, yet do another. This is an all-too-common walk-talk disconnect that employees are always quick to detect. Our findings suggest that mistrust is widespread today, and this should be very unsettling because trust in leadership is essential for workforce engagement, as well as productivity. "
There is a close link between trust and engagement, Rice noted. "According to our survey, 29 percent of North American employees were identified as 'fully engaged.' Of these, 91 percent trust their own manager and 80 percent even trust senior management. The correlation is inarguable."
Yet senior management faces a formidable challenge in building or rebuilding trust, Rice warned. "Employees know their immediate supervisor, and such firsthand knowledge makes it easier to establish trust. By comparison, however, senior management seems remote. Most top executives don't regularly get to interact with employees, which puts a burden on them to take care in how they communicate and behave.
"To build trust, they need to demonstrate their character and motivations, not just tow the company line. Effective leaders come across as real persons, not just a title. Only in this way can there be a basis for real trust."
Interestingly, the findings indicate that many employees like their jobs and managers, Rice said. "But if they don't trust the organization' s top people they just won't commit 100 percent. If leaders don't act properly, the result will be not only distrust but disgust."
Of the 7,508 survey respondents surveyed between December 2007 and February 2008, 44 percent reside in North America, 32 percent in India, 9 percent in Europe, 6 percent in Southeast Asia (including Australia) and 3 percent in China. Respondents from North America and Europe tend to be older and more tenured than those living in India and China