With the mass adoption of remote and hybrid working, trust in employees continues to be a challenge in the workplace. At the end of 2021, nearly a third (32%) of workers were being monitored by their employers – rising from 24% in April of that year. It’s clear to Irene van der Werf , that trusting workers to understand their roles, complete deadlines and work efficiently is an increasing issue for many organisations – especially if away from traditional, office-based settings
While most leaders have accepted and embraced remote and hybrid work, some still believe that working on site remains the most effective way to manage employees. In fact, research from Omnipresent has shown that 44% of business leaders feel that employees need an office to stay productive. Not only is this in contrast to the beliefs and experiences of many workers over the last few years, it also reveals a worrying lack of faith from leaders’ around their employees’ ability to work without supervision and the expectations of office structure.
A lack of trust is often the catalyst to low work standards and poor output in remote environments – not the environment itself. With 84% of business leaders planning for their organisations to work in a remote or hybrid setting in the long term, challenging antiquated perceptions about effectiveness and productivity is important for managers to tackle today. Building trust in remote employees is essential to maintain healthy business and people operations for years to come.
The effects of diminished trust in remote workers
In typical location-based settings, trust is often naturally established between leaders and teams who regularly work side by side. These relationships are not so easily solidified remotely and require a consolidated effort to ensure trust is achievable from the beginning of the relationship. Working to build them is vital, not only for the productivity, morale and wellbeing of employees, but for the ability of organisations to remain as cohesive units working towards shared goals. To understand the true effects of diminished trust, it’s necessary to shine a light on several issues.
Looking productive vs being productive
Despite the worries of some leaders, for many employees, remote work enables them to be more productive than in office settings. In fact, a study from Stanford shows that employee performance can increase by 13% when working from home.
Problematically, a lack of trust can inhibit this. When employees are increasingly aware that their every move is being tracked at work with monitoring tools, their focus shifts from outcomes to appearances. Many will attempt to look productive to appease management opposed to actually remaining productive. The regular worry of “do I look busy enough?” will distract, not drive, employees to achieve their potential.
Inefficient workflows
A lack of trust not only inhibits the productivity of individuals but the workflow of teams. When leaders don’t trust the capabilities of employees and attempt to micromanage or handle tasks entirely by themselves, output slows and efficiency is reduced.
Micromanagement is not new to organisations. However, the issue can be more pronounced and problematic with remote teams. When remote, leaders are not always available to guide actions or give immediate support – not only are they not face to face, employees may also work asynchronously across time zones or outside of typical office hours. Accordingly, if the one person deemed capable of making decisions or handling certain processes is not available or becomes backlogged, they become a bottleneck to operations.
Trusting team members to handle their individual roles and give employees autonomy is vital to remote work processes.
Leadership burnout
Leaders that don’t trust teams to effectively manage their own tasks also risk their own wellbeing. Taking on too many responsibilities in fear that others will not handle them correctly leads to the perception that they are irreplaceable. As a result, they may struggle to take time off, or will work overtime. Failure to share responsibilities can only go on for so long before the individual at hand suffers from burnout, thereby negatively impacting the whole team’s performance.
Stifling employee development
A lack of trust can stifle employee growth due the negative perceptions imparted on them. Ultimately, this can create a self-fulfilling prophecy in which a lack of confidence shown in an employees’ skills, capabilities, knowledge, etc. will be mirrored in the employees’ self-perceptions and subsequent work.
Ultimately, showing trust in employees is key for their development, enabling them to feel happy and secure in their roles. When leaders demonstrate confidence in an employee, the individual can feel empowered to perform well without direct supervision and feel more confident to innovate or experiment towards improvements.
Remember too, trust is not just one way; employers who trust their employees will gain this confidence back, creating a positive environment for the whole team. This cycle is not only key for operations but for morale, strengthening team dynamics despite working separately.
How can businesses build trust in remote settings?
There are a variety of steps organisations can take to offset diminished trust in remote settings and support employees moving forwards.
Give employees purpose
First, it should be made clear to every employee how they contribute to the success of the business. When the business’ goals are outlined, every individual should have a strong understanding of the part they play – their roles, responsibilities and how their skills are fundamental in getting the job done. This is particularly important for employees whose jobs may have altered with the transition to remote environments.
Having a clear outline not only instils a sense of purpose and drive, it enables further autonomy among employees who are trusted to complete their own tasks. When work is shared in this way, others will begin to recognise the team’s increased capabilities, building confidence in their colleagues’ performance.
Share knowledge
Another way to demonstrate trust in employees is by sharing knowledge and building skills across the team. While this is vital to show staff they are valued enough to be developed in their careers, it’s also necessary to ensure that one person cannot become responsible for too many internal tasks that could slow down operations.
Sharing knowledge around technology, company systems and business procedures will ensure no one person is a bottleneck and responsibilities can be trustfully delegated when needed.
This transfer of information should be ingrained into business structures, too, to ensure trust is developed on a broader, operational level and not just in day-to-day tasks. To do so, make sure policies and communication guidelines are developed, offering formal guidance on how to sign-off projects or manage handovers, for example. Deputies should also be created on every team, so tasks are more appropriately shared among colleagues.
Trial and error
Remember that the best way to begin a relationship with a new remote team member is by starting off from a place of trust. Building trust in a remote role can take more time than in office-settings, so it’s important to instil it from the onset. In a remote or hybrid environment, it requires active effort to get to know colleagues and establish psychological safety. While remote work remains a relatively new experience, there are no exact guidelines on getting it right.
Importantly too, when working to establish trust, what works for your business may not work for another. Likewise, something that works for your organisation or colleague today may not work tomorrow. Following up on these challenges and implementing changes is all part of the process.
According to ‘Working From Home is Corroding Our Trust In Each Other’ in the Harvard Business Review, ‘it’s critical that company leaders work to rebuild and maintain trusting relationships – with and among their employees. Those that don’t, risk far more than lower morale. The chances of increased attrition, lower productivity, and stalled innovation also loom large when trust plummets’.
Trial and error are key and the real winners will be those capable of reacting quickly to employee needs, and tailoring strategies so that employees are empowered to work effectively outside of the traditional office environment, and well into the future of work – in remote and hybrid settings.
Irene van der Werf is People Partner at Omnipresent.
