Episode: 319

Episode Title: When Trust is Broken

What do you do when someone doesn’t live up to your faith in them? Let’s talk about it, coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 319 show:

Greetings and welcome to The Perna Syndicate! This week, we’re covering the rise of employee surveillance and why it can be so destructive for trust in the workplace. But trust can be risky. Trusting someone means you believe they won’t take advantage of your faith in them. But—what if they do? 

Managers who discover an employee isn’t completing their work or acting according to company standards need to intervene with a constructive plan to help the employee change. If that’s not an option, it may be time to terminate employment. 

When dealing with an employee breaking trust, Dr. Meade warns organizations to keep the big picture in mind.  Overreacting can have a negative effect on the trust and openness of other employees. Managers need to be as transparent as possible about what happened and how the company responded. Handled carefully, such incidents can help build a culture of trust, rather than tear it down. 

What about employees who feel their employer doesn’t trust them? Geoff Webb says they must decide to what extent that is a problem for them. Do you want to work for an employer who is signaling a lack of trust? Can you do your best work in a culture like that? Maybe for now, but probably not long term. 

The problem with broken trust is not the fact that you trusted someone. It’s the fact that the trust, which is something good, was ultimately misplaced. Employers and employees must work toward mutual trust to move forward together in our fast-changing world.

This week we’ve talked a lot about the importance of trust at work. Next up, we’re going to cover some practical strategies to build it. We’ll see you back here tomorrow on The Perna Syndicate!