В Японии зафиксирован рост недоверия между руководителями и сотрудниками: каждый третий столкнулся с его падением

KEY POINTS Persol Research Institute and Kyushu University release second workplace trust study in Japan About one-third of leaders and members report trust decline within the past three months Trust repair extends beyond apology and moves through four stages toward renewed expectations Persol Research Institute and Kyushu University Graduate School published research on September 4 showing that about one in three managers and subordinates in Japan had experienced a decline in trust toward the other party within the past three months. The study examined how trust between supervisors and subordinates in the workplace weakens and how it can be repaired. It is the second in a series, following an earlier study released by Persol Research Institute on trust relationships between bosses and subordinates. According to the release, 33.3% of leaders and 34.7% of members had experienced an event that reduced trust in the other side during the previous three months. The findings describe workplace trust as a dynamic relationship that can shift through everyday events rather than something that remains stable once established. The study also found that leaders and members use different standards to judge trust. Leaders place greater weight on what subordinates do, including reporting and consultation, job execution and responsible behavior. Members, by contrast, focus more on how leaders engage with them, including explanation, listening and support. When trust declines, leaders tend to strengthen monitoring while also taking more actions aimed at repairing the relationship, such as speaking up or renegotiating the relationship. Members are more likely to show avoidant responses such as distancing, monitoring and silence, according to the release. For both leaders and members, the emotion most strongly associated with declining trust was anger or resentment. Trust erosion among leaders tended to intensify when they judged a subordinate's behavior as reflecting poor character or intentional misconduct. Among members, trust fell more sharply when they interpreted a leader's actions as deliberate or as evidence of insufficient ability to respond appropriately. The study identified different triggers for trust deterioration on each side. Among leaders, the most common reason was a lack of reporting or consultation, or delays in such communication, followed by failures to keep promises, deadlines or rules. The largest drops in leaders' trust were linked to serious compliance problems and to betrayal, backbiting or two-faced behavior. Among members, the most common reasons were lying, deception or changing what had been said, followed by ambiguous or inconsistent instructions. The largest trust declines among members were linked to harassment, including similar behavior, and to unreasonable treatment or scolding. The research also pointed to workplace consequences after trust weakens. For leaders, falling trust in members was associated with weaker motivation to develop subordinates, lower expectations and a greater personal burden. For members, declining trust in leaders was associated with lower motivation, reduced expectations of supervisors, greater psychological distance and stronger intentions to leave or avoid the relationship. On repair, the study found that trust restoration does not end with a single apology. Instead, it may progress through four stages: understanding, acceptance, reassurance and renewed expectations. The release said repair actions were observed in about half of cases involving members as seen by leaders, compared with about 30% of cases involving leaders as seen by members. Persol Research Institute is part of staffing group Persol Holdings, one of Japan's largest human resources companies. The study comes as Japanese employers navigate changes in work styles and communication methods, including wider use of hybrid work arrangements.