one in five canadians have lost trust in their employers: report
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neuroscientists have investigated the link between the level of trust within an organization and business performance with telling results. getty
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one out of five canadians (20 per cent) surveyed say trust between employees and their employer has declined compared to before the pandemic, according to the mental health index report. worse, that lack of trust has taken a weighty toll on workers’ mental health.
the report is released monthly by lifeworks, a health technology provider part of telus health, to shine a light on the importance of mental health. the full
“trust is essential to the strength of any relationship, but especially so between employer and employee during times of significant change and stress,” telus health ceo michael dingle said in a release obtained by healthing.
“today’s workplace is being tested. this data shows how critically important it is for organizations to be intentional about making employee wellness a priority, and to be mindful of the relationship between culture and employee trust.”
in general, the report also found that canadians are still struggling with their mental health, assigning a score of 65.1, with no improvement for three months. scores between 0 and 49 indicate distress levels; those between 50 and 79 correspond with strain levels, while scores between 80 and 100 show optimal levels of mental health.
could faltering trust and mental distress affect employee’s work and productivity?
according to statistics canada, labour productivity crept up 0.2 per cent in the second quarter for canadian businesses after falling 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter. while this was the first increase in productivity since the second quarter of 2020, productivity is still 1.3 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. also, hours worked in the business sector rose 0.7 per cent, which was much less than in the last three quarters.
when it comes to productivity, canadians surveyed by lifeworks cited mental health and well-being as the most significant factor that negatively impacts the effort given to work.
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the index shows nearly half (46 per cent) of people who report a decline in trust cite a change in workplace culture as the top reason. this is followed by perceived changes in the handling of employee well-being support (43 per cent), and changes in communication (30 per cent.)
perhaps not surprisingly, as we emerge from the isolation of covid-19, co-worker relationships also influence the effort employees put into work. the index found that one-quarter, 25 per cent, of respondents say that relationships with co-workers most positively impact their effort, while 12 cent said the relationship with their manager has the most positive impact on the effort they put into their work.
further, 11 per cent of respondents say the level of recognition received most positively impacts their work effort.
“personal mental health and well-being and the relationships at work are the top two factors related to the effort put into work,” lifeworks global leader paula allen said in the news release. “organizations can influence both with an environment that supports self-care and collaboration. manager training, healthy team norms and strong mental health and well-being services are all tangible actions that enable employees to work at their best potential.”
while twenty per cent of respondents said trust between employees and their employer has declined compared to before the pandemic, all is not lost. seventy-one per cent of respondents reported no change in trust with employers, while nine per cent report an increase in trust.
why is trust so important?
neuroscientists have investigated the link between the level of trust within an organization and business performance with telling results. the main motivation for the focus on organizational trust is research that indicates generalized trust
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correlates with economic growth. (what the direction is between the two, however, is still up for debate. it could very well be that citizens trust each other when times are good, and that trust begins to erodes when people are struggling.)
at the micro level, research indicates both organizational trust and alignment with the company’s purpose correlate with increased productivity and earnings by employees, reduced job turnover, and improved job satisfaction.
a global team of authors of a study published in
frontiers in psychology looked at a national representative sample of working american adults to quantify how a culture of trust impacts business performance, writing “we propose that companies that ignore the human element at work, falling into the trap of treating employees like capital rather than people, will become performance laggards compared to organizations that empower their workforces with trust and purpose.”
karen hawthorne is a toronto-based writer.
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