Reading this article from the Harvard Business Review and given what we know about experiential learning, engagement, psychology and connection, this warning really struck a chord.
I wholeheartedly agree with the authors’ assertion that widespread WFH policies are creating big challenges for how we establish and maintain trust in our workplace relationships.
Some key takeaways:
- As humans and social creatures, we unconsciously interpret a lack of physical presence as a signal of untrustworthiness.
- The foundation of trust is predictability – with less face-to-face time with our colleagues means it’s harder to rely on tangible and situational cues that demonstrate predictability to each other.
- Fewer sidebar conversations to build rapport paired with misunderstandings and miscommunications that are par for the course in online communication are all coming together for a perfect storm…
The time to work on establishing (or re-establishing) trust among employees is now. Lasting change comes through repeated, small, reinforcing steps.
