According to the Towers Watson “Turbocharging” Employee Engagement Report Part 1, 42% don’t trust their immediate supervisor.

Trust is something that’s earned within an organization. It’s important for employees to trust their manager as it allows communication to be more honest, and the workplace to be a more efficient and enjoyable place.

It’s important for employees to know that their manager trusts them, as trust occurs in two directions. Once a manager displays trust to employees, employees are likely to show reciprocal trust. For example, Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot told us about their “No Vacation Policy” Vacation Policy:

Inspired by an employee who worked all weekend then wanted to take a Wednesday off, Brian realized that it doesn’t make sense to microscopically track every day off. They told their staff “We trust you” and empowered them to use their judgment and make sure everyone who needs to know knows. We’ve seen the same policy at Netflix (see Telegraph on Netflix’s vacation policy), and we actually do the same thing here at Rypple.

Respect and trust go hand in hand. 91% think their boss respects them, helping to drive trust within an organization.

To help create trust in your company, I recommend finding a tool to help facilitate honesty and open communication, or for further reading, take a look at the Feedback Digest from a few weeks ago on Transparency and Trust.