Trust is an important resource in the context of the functioning of society, but also the safe and effective performance of work. Especially nowadays, when work is performed within new forms of organization, in international corporations, with a complicated organizational structure, in a strongly heterogeneous and anonymous group of co-workers, when there is uncertainty of the individual towards the activities of co-workers. In this context, the results of research showing a very low level of trust among the inhabitants of Poland are worrying.

The modern labor market requires a lot of mutual trust from employees. First of all, because nowadays it is almost impossible to work in complete isolation from society (although it is possible to have no face-to-face contact with colleagues). The vast majority of modern professional work is therefore a social event and as such takes place within the framework of established social relations, i.e. in accordance with the applicable norms and patterns of behavior, regulating the activities of the participants of the relationship and determining their rights and duties. Despite the clear normative definition, professional work, like any social relationship, requires a certain degree of trust from the participants, which allows you to have a mutual belief that the partners of the relationship share the perception of rights and duties resulting from their roles.

The mutual trust of colleagues has become an even more important resource than before due to the dynamic changes in the conditions of work. Today’s professional work takes place in a complicated and not very transparent social and organizational environment, in a very diverse and anonymous group of co-workers and in conditions of modern social forms, such as mass society and intensifying global dependencies. Modern employees more and more often perform their professional activity within international corporations with a complicated, cosmopolitan structure and within new forms of work organization – fundraising, crowdsourcing, remote work or B2B services. As a result of these changes on the labor market, the individual’s uncertainty about the actions of colleagues increases,

Research has shown that trust is the foundation of occupational safety, having an indirect impact on the key factors of OSH organization in the enterprise, including primarily those that affect employee involvement in safety – leadership and safety climate. The trust of employees strengthens or limits the management’s activities in the area of ​​OSH, in such a way that distrustful employees are reluctant to react to any actions of leaders in the area of ​​OSH, undermining their legitimacy, are less likely to undertake independent intervention, and more often question OSH regulations and principles. On the other hand, the literature on the subject also proves that too high a level of trust can be detrimental to maintaining security in the enterprise.

Trust depends on selected socio-demographic characteristics. In Poland, people with a bad life situation have the lowest trust – they have difficulties in finding their way on the labor market or are permanently excluded from this labor market, earn less, with lower education, remain in marital conflict, work in worse conditions and pay less. What’s more, people with low trust more often stated that they perform work that threatens their life or health, and at the same time they more often „do not put in effort” to this work or do it only for money or promotion.

Source: CIOP and PIB materials

Source:https://www.seka.pl/zaufanie-w-pracy-resource-best-needs/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.