The Importance of Trust
The psychological contract is so important and can even be considered more important than the explicit employment contract. The psychological contract is someone's own perception of what they commit to their relationship to the organisation and what they can expect to receive in return.
Employees need to feel that it is safe to raise issues and there is a platform for them to do this, they need to know that they will be treated fairly if something does go wrong.
Trust is built over time and means that organisations will do what they say they will do, this journey of trust starts right from when you begin your recruitment process. But whilst trust is built over time, one single breach can leave your employees thinking that the organisation is untrustworthy.
When trust is broken, employees can start to behave negatively
They might neglect their duties
Work ‘to rule’
Take more sick time
Show signs of low morale
They could begin to withdraw from overtime that they would normally undertake
They may even resign
An organisation’s failure to meet the obligations of the psychological contract can therefore be damaging to the organisation’s performance, its talent pool and its reputation.
Sometimes these breaches just can’t be avoided - but if you approach them fairly then you can often avoid the negative consequences. So communicate with your employees, negotiate and consult - if you allow people to have a voice in your organisation you may be surprised at how positively they will react.
Get in touch with Stanley & Davis to discuss how we can help you with your organisational culture and mentor your people managers.