Last post we explored what trust is in the workplace — and what happens when it’s missing.
Now let’s look at why the energy of trust is beyond a nice to have, it’s biological.
Neuroscientist Paul Zak published The Neuroscience of Trust in Harvard Business Review in 2017. His research spanned more than a decade and combined the measurement of oxytocin, cortisol and brain imaging in a nationally representative survey of 1000+ working adults.
HIs findings were striking. In high-trust organisations, people reported:
⚡ 74% less stress
⚡ 106% more energy
⚡ 50% higher productivity
⚡ 76% higher engagement
⚡ 40% less burnout
⚡ 29% higher life satisfaction
Trust changes energy.
When trust is high:
⬆️ Oxytocin creates connection, generosity, collaboration
⬇️ Cortisol which avoids triggering stress, threat vigilance
Where there is a trust gap, the nervous system shifts into protection mode.
Energy diverts from creativity → to defence.
No strategy outperforms biology.
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🔎 What does a Trust Gap look like?
Some current common examples:
1️⃣ The team finds the leader to be inauthentic or uncaring
2️⃣ Hiring or exiting someone without proper process or notice leaves the team questioning
3️⃣ Strategic decisions made without inclusion
4️⃣ Broken promises on promotions, raises, or progression
5️⃣ Perceived favouritism over merit
Please add here based on your team’s experiences. When these occur, the energy can shift materially for the individual affected, while sometimes more subtly for the team.
People don’t always resign. They withdraw energy.
And that is far more expensive in the longer run and harder to detect.
🧠 Consider high-profile exits to be leveraged as opportunities to increase trust by truly examining the why, then sharing openly with the team. The damage is done, don’t make it worse by ignoring or spinning the leaving rationale
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❓Can Trust in the Workplace Be Rebuilt?
Recent corporate history gives us only a couple of high-profile examples of intentionally rebuilding trust.
- Johnson & Johnson rebuilt trust by prioritising customer safety over profit after its product tampering crisis.
- Volkswagen is still rebuilding internal and external trust through leadership change and governance reform after its emissions scandal.
- Uber’s toxic culture resulted in a CEO change with mixed results since.
Rebuilding required visible accountability and sustained behavioural change, ongoing even now. This is a tenuous time, no shortcuts will be tolerated when a company is on the defensive for breaching trust.
I’m curious, in the workplace (subject to confidentiality of course):
- Do you believe trust can truly be rebuilt once broken?
- Does it require a leadership change?
- Have you experienced trust restored — or permanently lost?
Energy flows where trust grows. And when it doesn’t, people conserve instead of contribute.
#TrustRebuild #TrustGap #TrustBrain #Neuroscience #WorkplaceCulture #Energy #Connection
