Creating a culture of trust decreases chronic stress and improves productivity, creative problem solving, and job satisfaction.
This, according to Paul J. Zak, a professor at Claremont Graduate University and chief science officer at Ofactor. Zak began his research in the 1990s. Initially, his goal was to find the common thread shared by high-performance cultures. His answer? Trust. But how could he prove it? The idea that trust relates to high performance isn’t new. They are highly correlated. What sets this research apart from most is its focus on the causal chain. For more than a decade, Zak measured trust and trustworthiness by looking at the amount of oxytocin (the trust neurochemical) a person’s body produced when faced with a situation where trust played a role. This could be interacting with a stranger or placing finances in the hands of another person. Through years of experimentation, Zak and his group ultimately discovered what promoted and inhibited the release of oxytocin. “Oxytocin facilitates the release of another neurochemical called dopamine, which increases motivation and makes it feel good to work as a team.” However,
“High levels of stress as measured by the hormone epinephrine, inhibit the brain’s synthesis of oxytocin.” This means when your employees are stressed out, they’re less trusting. They’re also less cooperative. According to Zak, “When the brain makes more oxytocin, cooperative behaviors surge.”
What that means for us as leaders is that we should do our best to help employees manage their stress. Because when employees are stressed, their brains aren’t making use of the oxytocin being released in their bodies. Which means decreased cooperation, and reduced productivity. All of which just leads to more stress.
In fact, Zak’s formula for measuring trust (as detailed in his article “Trust and Growth” in the Economic Journal) shows that: “Trust reduces the frictions—what economists call transaction costs—when people interact. As the frictions to social interactions fall, the opportunity to create economic value increases.”
Does that mean we need to turn our workplaces into relaxation spas? Nope. The idea that we want to reduce feelings of stress among coworkers does not mean that we shouldn’t want them to be challenged.
“The science shows that employees want to be trusted and to be held accountable to one another because it makes work challenging and enjoyable, and has a salubrious effect on the bottom line.”
Furthermore, Zak’s study found that employees in “high-trust organizations” have: - 70 percent less chronic stress and
- 28 percent more energy;
- experience 26 percent more joy during the work day; and
- are 19 percent more productive,
- 22 percent more creative,
- one-third less likely to miss work due to sickness,
- 69 percent more likely to stay with their current employer, and
- 17 percent more satisfied with their lives outside of work.
Okay great. But HOW do you increase organizational trust?
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