Trust between employees and employers has always been fundamental to workplace engagement. When employees trust leadership to make fair decisions, communicate honestly about tough times, and act justly when balancing the organization’s needs with its people, they are far more likely to stay engaged in their work. That engagement, in turn, supports stronger collaboration, higher productivity, and greater resilience during periods of change.
Without trust, even the most sophisticated technologies, management strategies, or workplace initiatives can struggle to deliver productive results. This can lead to higher turnover, reduced willingness to take initiative, and reluctance to share candid feedback, which compounds organizational challenges and undermines innovation.
That issue is becoming increasingly pressing as employee trust reaches record lows. A 2025 study from Indeed found that 40% of workers report some level of distrust or uncertainty toward their leaders and colleagues. The problem is only getting worse. Gen Z employees, now entering the workforce in large numbers, show significantly lower trust levels compared with older generations, with only 41% saying they trust their employer. This trend signals that organizations must work harder to build trust or risk widespread disengagement across teams.
For many organizations, the challenge is not just about building trust, it’s issues surrounding it often remain hard to diagnose until they start affecting performance or retention.
In an era of hybrid work, digital collaboration, and constant change, HR leaders have fewer informal signals to gauge workforce sentiment. With these new dynamics, HR must find alternative ways to assess trust that go beyond traditional surveys or engagement metrics and develop plans to restore it.
The Hidden Signals of Trust Breakdown
Trust is not easily captured in traditional performance metrics or employee surveys. These may reflect general satisfaction or morale but often miss nuanced signs of skepticism or disengagement toward leadership.
“Trust is one of those things that you can’t always see on a dashboard,”
Meisha-ann Martin, VP of People Research at Workhuman, says. “Survey responses give you a signal, but they don’t always capture underlying perceptions of fairness, integrity, or consistency in leadership.”
Poorly aligned questions, limited options for nuanced feedback, and a lack of space for employees to explain their perspectives mean surveys alone can mask critical warning signs behind data that appears positive on the surface.
Beyond the data itself, there’s another metric worth considering, how many people don’t trust leadership enough to respond at all. Meisha-ann explains:
“You need to think about how many people don’t even trust you enough to respond to your survey,”
That silence can be just as telling as any survey result, signaling that employees feel disconnected or wary of sharing their true opinions. For example, remote team members who consistently avoid volunteering updates in meetings may be silently disengaging, even if they appear ‘active’ on paper.
Hybrid work and digital communication tools further complicate the picture. Without in-person exchanges, leaders miss informal cues, body language, hallway chats, casual check-ins, that often reveal when trust is faltering. Employees may appear responsive in email or collaboration tools, but subtle signs of hesitation, selective participation, or skepticism can easily go unnoticed.
When trust begins to erode quietly, its effects soon surface in everyday work.
“You might see talented people quietly disengage, not because they’re unhappy with their work, but because they don’t feel confident in the leadership or the company’s direction,”
James Wilkinson, Managing Partner at AEC, says. “That hesitation slows decision-making and reduces innovation, and it can snowball before anyone realizes it.”
Restoring Trust Through Leadership Action
Once trust gaps are identified, addressing them proactively is critical. Rebuilding trust isn’t about generic engagement programs, it requires concrete leadership behaviors that demonstrate reliability, fairness, and transparency.
Heidi Barnett, President of Talent Acquisition at isolved, emphasizes the importance of clear communication:
“Leaders need to be consistent, transparent, and responsive. Employees watch not just what leaders say but what they do. When leaders act predictably and align with organizational values, trust begins to rebuild organically.”
Actions to rebuild trust include transparent decision-making, visible accountability, and genuine recognition of employee contributions. When employees feel heard and see follow-through on promises, trust begins to recover.
Leaders can also implement structured 1:1 check-ins, invite teams to co-create solutions to pressing challenges, and consistently follow up on commitments to demonstrate that promises are meaningful. Regularly sharing progress on organizational initiatives helps employees see alignment between words and actions.
Importantly, the leadership must also show that they balance organizational priorities with employee well-being, reinforcing that decisions are fair and equitable.
Restoring trust requires patience. It erodes incrementally and rebuilds gradually through consistent, reliable actions. Teams often respond positively when leaders show vulnerability, admit mistakes, and actively involve employees in problem-solving. These behaviors send a clear signal that leadership is competent, consistent, and aligned with the workforce’s interests.
Measuring and Sustaining Trust
As companies continue navigating hybrid work, digital transformation, and new forms of communication, measuring trust remains an ongoing challenge for HR leaders. Recognizing that a loss of trust rarely shows up directly in survey data, leaders must stay alert to behaviors that reveal it. Declining participation, hesitation to share ideas, subtle disengagement, delays in decision-making, or remote team members avoiding updates can all signal weakened confidence in leadership. Spotting these early behavioral cues is vital to preventing small trust gaps from becoming larger organizational issues.
Leaders must also respond deliberately to the signals they uncover. That means aligning policies, communication, and day-to-day behaviors to address concerns and rebuild confidence. Failure to act can slow decision-making and stifle innovation, so timely interventions are essential.
Ultimately, trust is both a barometer and a driver of organizational health. Companies that detect early signs of eroding trust, respond proactively, and reinforce transparent, consistent, and fair leadership will see measurable benefits: stronger engagement, better collaboration, and a workforce better equipped to navigate change.
