MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

Is lack of trust in leadership causing people to jump ship?

Tim Gould
by Tim Gould
October 21, 2011
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

Trust
Do your employees trust their leadership?
New research indicates less than half of the workforce — 48% — say they trust the people at the top of their organizations.
Even worse: 28% actively distrust leaders.
Finally, another 24% said they neither trust nor distrust management — which could be the most damning statistic of all: People who don’t care enough to have an opinion aren’t exactly the folks you’d expect to be fully “engaged” in their jobs.
And here’s the bottom line: 50% of those who say they don’t trust company leadership are seriously considering jumping ship.
Only 14% of the workers who trust their management are thinking of leaving.
The numbers come from a recent survey from the Kenexa High Performance Institute, which canvassed about 10,000 U.S. workers and another 1,000 in 21 other countries.
Key attributes of trusted leaders
What qualities engender trust among workers? Kenexa says employees are l0oking for three key traits in their leaders:

  • Integrity — cited by 41% of respondents
  • Benevolence — cited by 34%, and
  • Competence — cited by 25%.

Gender doesn’t seem to enter into the trust equation, according to Kenexa — the poll results reveal no difference in the trust levels of men and women.
Age, however, is a different matter. Workers in their 20s and 30s are far more likely to trust management than employees in their 40s and 50s.
The study points out another interesting variable in trust levels: Upper and mid-level managers are more likely to trust leadership than rank and file employees.
Sixty-one percent of managers say they trust management, and 63% say they feel their organization has an effective, open communication structure.
Only 46% of the rank and file say they trust leadership, and 51% think they work in an atmosphere of open communication.
Best practices
What can employers do to build trust levels? Kenexa identifies several tactics that seem to help build trust. A rundown:

  • Published a mission statement: Of companies who did so, 52% of employees said their trust levels were high. Of employees in companies who had no mission statement, only 38% said they trusted leadership.
  • Conducted an employee opinion survey: Yes, 54%; No, 38%
  • Sponsored a quality improvement initiative: Yes, 55%; No, 36%
  • Gathered customer satisfaction feedback: Yes, 54%; No, 37%
  • Conducted yearly performance reviews: Yes, 51%; No, 40%, and
  • Cross-trained employees: Yes, 54%; No, 42%.

To download a PDF of the full research results, go here.

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • HR Technology
  • Performance Management
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation & Payroll
  • Policy & Culture
  • Staff Administration
  • Wellness & Safety
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader