A recent article in "Business Insider" revealed that employees are happier and healthier when there's trust between the boss and employees. Specifically, more than 1,000 employees surveyed high levels of energy and engagement on the job as well as less stress, burnout and took fewer sick days.
Trust is an important foundation for any work relationship because business is about relationships, whether it's employee-client, employee-boss or employee-employee. People do business with those that they like and trust. At work, it isn't only about success. There will be times that you fail, make mistakes and lose clients. When there's trust at the workplace then people are more likely to turn to each other for help, support or idea. People will be more willing to open up, be vulnerable and find solutions. If you're around someone who you don't like or trust then your body language changes, your tone of voice changes and you tend to avoid contact with that person. A company doesn't succeed because of one person. A company succeeds because of its people, team effort.
Here are five ways to build trust at work.
1) Show interest. Get to know co-workers and boss. You have to friendly and take genuine interest in those you work with. This doesn't sharing mean deep, dark, dirty secrets. Remember what I said earlier people do business with those they like and trust. Find commonalities with the people you work with.
2) Listen and support. When someone comes to you with a problem, you want to be encouraging and listen to what they're saying. A lot of times, you may not listen because you're too busy talking. You're thinking about how to solve the problems instead of listening and being a sounding board. Be careful not to criticize. Instead share stories of your success and failures and who you turned to for advice.
3) Be transparent. Transparency is important because when someone gets the sense that you're hiding something or withholding information and you're not being completely hones. Then guess what? You're going to break trust.
4) Be truthful. Speaking of being truthful, sometimes you can take about things and other times you can't. Be transparent and say, "I'd love to talk to you about it. This is what I can say. And this is what I can't." This lets the other person know that you're being as transparent as you possibly can in that situation.
5) Follow through. If you say that you're going to do something then do it, even if it's something small or minor. Let's say that you have a meeting at 3 p.m. Or, say that you're going out to lunch at 12:30 p.m. and you can't make. Instead of blowing someone off and saying to yourself that they know that you're working on a big project. Give them a call or send an email saying that something came up and schedule for a different time.
Try out these tips and let me know how it works for you. Share your thoughts on my Facebook page: Blanca Cobb - Body Language Expert. Write a message on my timeline and I'll get back to you. Give my page a "like" while you're there. I'd appreciate it.