Do employees trust their leaders?

 

In our latest study, we asked 1,700 professionals if they trust their leaders. Results show that junior employees believe in their bosses, but this trust slowly erodes as employees become more senior. Cultural differences also account for disparities by country and industry, with some sectors not performing as expected...


Do you trust your leaders?

By experience

 
Years of experience Yes No
Graduate 54% 46%
1-5 years 54% 46%
6-10 years 45% 55%
11-15 years 46% 54%
15+ years 36% 64%


Slowly losing trust... While most employees start their career trusting their bosses (54% of those with less than 5 years of experience), they gradually lose confidence with approval ratings down to only 36% for professionals with over 15 years' experience.


Do you trust your leaders?

By industry

Rank Industry Yes No
1 Sports, Culture, Recreation 64% 36%
2 Services, Tourism, Restaurants 56% 44%
3 Manufacturing & Industrials 56% 44%
4 Consumer Goods 55% 45%
5 Healthcare 55% 45%
6 Apps, Web, eCommerce 55% 45%
7 Technology 48% 52%
8 Consulting & Professional Services 47% 53%
9 Public sector & Education 46% 54%
10 Construction & Real Estate 45% 55%
11 Retail & Trade 45% 55%
12 Law Practice 44% 56%
13 Transportation & Logistics 43% 57%
14 Financial Services 43% 57%
15 Media &Communication 43% 57%
16 Insurance 42% 58%
17 Energy, Mining & Chemicals 41% 59%
18 Pharmaceuticals & Biotech 36% 64%
19 Charity & Not For Profit 25% 75%

Far from overwhelming... Only 6 industries out of 19 in which the majority of employees trust their leaders. 


Untrustworthy trusts: Only 1 in 4 charity workers trust their bosses. A particular concern for an industry which relies on perception and the public's confidence to function.


So much about a leader's vision... While technology firms are doing relatively well, ranking 7 out of 19 industries, as flagbearers for new management styles, implementing 'vision' and focusing on fit and employee happiness, we expected better rankings.


Do you trust your leaders?

By country

Rank Country Yes No
1 Netherlands 68% 32%
2 India 55% 45%
3 Italy 55% 45%
4 Canada 53% 47%
5 Singapore 50% 50%
6 Australia 50% 50%
7 South Africa 50% 50%
8 Switzerland 50% 50%
9 France 50% 50%
10 USA 48% 52%
11 Germany 47% 53%
12 UAE 44% 56%
13 UK 42% 58%
14 Luxembourg 41% 59%
15 Spain 40% 60%
16 Ireland 40% 60%
17 Hong Kong 36% 64%


On the importance of business culture: a country's business culture and practices clearly impacts the way employees perceive their bosses, with trust in leaders ranging from 36% (Hong Kong) to 68% (Netherlands) depending on the country.


The UK is lagging It might come as a surprise to see the United Kingdom rank so poorly in these rankings (13 out of 17, with only 42% of employees trusting their leaders), below countries such as Italy and France, which are often caricatured as being suspicious of any form of authority.


Alice Leguay, Co-Founder and CMO at Emolument.com said: 'The amount of employees choosing self-employment is sky-rocketing and due to double by 2020. Uninspiring corporate cultures as well as poor leadership, or at least outdated management methods are largely to blame, which is why so many corporations choose to invest in HR Technology solutions in order to keep their finger on the pulse of their staff and retain them by upping the happiness factor. Our results, however, show there is still room for improvement.'

 

Emolument provides bonus and salary statistics based on data submitted directly by professionals like you. It is free, anonymous, and already a trusted tool for thousands of professionals worldwide. Are you paid enough? Click here to find out now.


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