Is trust broken in UK workplaces? Three ways to rebuild it with your team.

It is an uncomfortable topic, but a toxic work culture can have a terrible impact on any business and the people in it, and working in a strained team does not feel rewarding. In recent years, we have seen a 'Great Resignation' in which more than usual staff have chosen to move on from their roles.

While this was attributed mainly to the pandemic, more workers than ever are actively seeking the best working conditions they can find. The best working conditions are more than just remote or flexible working opportunities; people seek more benefits, trustworthy management and a better work culture.

Recent Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4CP) research has highlighted the pervasive lack of trust among employees and business leaders. The analysis of UK-based respondents to the I4CP survey revealed that trust between managers and their employees is a rare commodity. From toxic internal culture to unclear or uncommunicated priorities, less than 20% of employees feel they have high trust in their direct manager and senior leadership. These figures underscore the urgent need to address workplace culture and conduct a thorough health check.

What is considered a toxic work environment?

The study also looked at the traits of workplaces that were considered toxic.

Here are the top 9:

Bureaucratic
Non-inclusive
Disrespectful
Chaotic
Complacent
Cutthroat
Hierarchical
Insensitive
Conflict Avoidant

Bureaucracy placing first indicates that employees are looking for more opportunities to be part of the decision-making that impacts their roles. While it has an important place and, in the correct dose, helps organisations from becoming chaotic, it adds to the perception of a workplace being hierarchical. Teams that cannot work with a reasonable level of agility may experience high staff turnover or increasing indifference to people and tasks.

How to build trust and avoid a toxic workplace.

1. Keep workplaces flexible where possible.

The past few years have shown us just how much we are capable of by being flexible, and this is on the part of employees and employers. Flexibility shows an ongoing commitment to the wellbeing of the people who keep the business running. Still, it's about more than working from home. Many companies are now requiring staff to return to the office. There are opportunities for flexibility around work schedules and work tasks that can be considered a substitute.

2. Communicate your company's goals and values.

Most businesses have a policy and procedure document on a shelf collecting dust. While it is great to have these things in writing, if your people are not connected with your values every day, they may find their job elements difficult, especially if they are in decision-making roles. Over time, your team changes, people come and go, products and services evolve, and new customers will become part of your business's success; re-evaluating your goals and values is work done every few years to stay on track.

Through this process, getting feedback from your team is helpful and crucial to staying connected with your customers and other stakeholders. Use your supervisors to gather input from their teams as a group and see what common or unique ideas they bring forward. Then, get your supervisors together to relay feedback and assess the most relevant goals and values to focus on as a group. Of course, ensure the outcome is communicated to all team members within the business, and remember to acknowledge and thank them for their input.

3. Reward people for representing those values and meeting goals.

There are many great ways to reward team members for their contributions. We recently surveyed our LinkedIn audience to find out which long-service award they would prefer, and extra paid time off was the clear winner, but there are other great ways:

Bonus pay
A personalised gift
Charitable donation
A dining or adventure experience
Recognition with trophy, plaque or medal

Many businesses are now implementing systems to recognise achievement towards a goal or KPI, not just completing a goal. Organisational goals are often aligned with clear sales targets, and the meeting of these targets is very easy to track. What is less clear is the impact that different people and teams have in progressing towards these targets. The staff who coordinate early steps towards sales or KPI-aligned targets are often bypassed for recognition when the goals have been achieved. By creating rewards for progress, team members at all levels know that their contribution is seen and valuable.

Trust is an imperative part of teamwork, and businesses function better with happy teams. In aiming to bridge the gap between managers and their staff, leadership teams need to take an objective look at the culture within their business and fairly assess if there is an opportunity for improvement. Using the above-mentioned tips, any workplace can begin to build towards a better environment where people thrive, after all, everybody takes pride in a drama-free and rewarding workplace.