Employees’
trust in upward communication has risen dramatically in the last decade,
according to a new survey Trust and Mistrust at Work.
The
Mori study of 776 people pinpoints the most and least trusted information
channels.
Line
managers are employees’ most trusted channels of information; 48 per cent of
British employees surveyed find their direct bosses a reliable channel, an
increase of 9 per cent since 1994.
In
all, 33 per cent of employees, mainly managers and professionals, trust the
opportunities given to put forward their own views compared to 15 per cent in
1994.
Mori’s
research reveals a lack of confidence in senior management, with 20 per cent of
people feeling they are not a trustworthy or reliable channel of information.
Susan
Walker, director of Mori’s HR research said: “The impact of these findings is
critical to internal communications strategies. It emphasises the value of
focusing on effective team briefings and upwards communications channels as
these are most likely to be trusted.”
