Trust at work lowest among those who earn the least

Almost half of people in the UK do not trust their boss, according to a new report.

The Yorkshire Building Society Trust Study shows 48 per cent of people do not have faith in their boss’s integrity and almost a quarter (24 per cent) feel the same about the rest of their colleagues, with only 11 per cent claiming they trusted all of their workmates.

The new research highlights that the more you earn, the more you apparently trust – with those on the lowest incomes less likely to put faith in co-workers and employers.

Across the UK, 57 per cent of people with a household income of less than £25k don’t trust work colleagues, compared to only 13 per cent of those taking home more than £75k.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) of those surveyed admitted to feeling jealous of work colleagues, while one in 20 (5 per cent) say issues around earnings have fuelled their distrust.

London is the place where people are happiest with their workmates, with 18 per cent claiming to trust all of their colleagues, compared to just seven per cent in the East of England.

Despite people’s own lack of trust, the majority feel confident that others are happy with their performance at work – with 60 per cent of those quizzed feeling trusted by their co-workers.

Chris Pilling, Yorkshire Building Society’s Chief Executive, said: “Trust is essential to developing great relationships – whether at home, in public life or as we can see here, in the workplace.

“For employers and employees, trust is key to ensuring things run smoothly and that people work productively, creatively and enjoy their work life.

“Trust is a precious commodity – it takes a lot of time to build it and little time to lose it – and we hope this research will help people to realise how it has been undermined in the UK and take action to protect it.”

Prof Karen Pine, of the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Psychology, said: “Trust is based on the belief that another person has our interests at heart and it is not uncommon for bosses to put business needs before those of the individual.

“Within the workplace, issues about money create competition between colleagues and where there is competition there will inevitably be a loss of trust. Lower earners showed lower levels of trust because the less that people have, the greater their fear is of losing it.”

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