Trust in Leadership declines
The shaky economic and employment climate in the U.S. continues to make headlines. In a recent poll of 1,857 U.S.-based employees identified another issue for employers to worry about: a lack of employee trust in management.
Among the findings:
Only 14 percent of respondents said they believe that their company’s leaders are ethical and honest.
Just 12 percent believe their employer genuinely listens to and cares about its employees.
A small 10 percent of employees said they trust management to make the right decision in times of uncertainty.
And just 7 percent said that senior management’s actions are consistent with their words.
Poor communication, lack of perceived caring, inconsistent behavior and perceptions of favoritism were cited by respondents as the largest contributors to their lack of trust in senior leaders.
It seems that a strong indicator of management mistrust is lack of shared values. If a company truly wants to engage its workforce, drive trust and gain loyalty, it must implement a culture that recognizes individual behaviors that contribute to the company’s values and goals, and sadly, this isn’t common practice. … Only 8 percent of employees say they are frequently recognized for demonstrating behavior consistent with their company’s stated values. And I hate to add that simple Thank You’s and other types of simple acknowledgement of employee efforts is sorely lacking in todays workforce. Are we all so busy we forgot the fundamentals?