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The Science of Trust at Work: Why We Trust People

According to research1 https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-research/trust-project/videos/waytz-ep-2/ , your brain needs just 100 milliseconds—faster than a blink—to decide if someone is trustworthy. 

In that split second, it processes a symphony of signals: micro-expressions, voice, and body language. This instant trust assessment shapes everything from first dates to million-dollar deals. 

Let’s decode what your brain looks for in those crucial first moments!

What is Trust?

At its core, trust is your brain’s way of creating social bonds and assessing risk. It’s a complex psychological and physiological state where we become willing to make ourselves vulnerable to another person, betting that they’ll act in our best interests.

Think of trust like your brain’s social safety system. Just as your body has an immune system to protect you from physical threats, your brain has intricate neural networks dedicated to detecting who is safe to let into your social world.

And just like your immune system, this trust detection system can sometimes be overactive (making you too suspicious) or underactive (making you too trusting)…

The Trust Spectrum

How trusting are you? Check out our “trust spectrum” and some of the key risk areas that you should be mindful of depending on where you land:

Trust LevelKey BehaviorsRisk AreasCommon Phrases 
Highly Guarded• Questions others’ basic motives• Rarely shares personal info• Double-checks everything• Views help with suspicion• Missing opportunities• Difficulty building relationships• Professional isolation• “I’ll need to verify that”• “I prefer to handle it myself”• “What’s their real agenda?”
Cautiously Reserved• Takes time to warm up• Shares selectively• Verifies important claims• Maintains strong boundaries• Slower relationship building• May seem standoffish• Limited networking• “Let me think about it”• “I’d like to know more first”• “Trust but verify”
Balanced Trust• Gives measured benefit of doubt• Opens up gradually• Balances verification with faith• Sets healthy boundaries• Occasional disappointments• Some calculated risks• “Let’s start small”• “That seems reasonable”• “I’m willing to try”
Generally Trusting• Assumes good intentions• Shares openly• Takes people at their word• Recovers from betrayal• Sometimes too optimistic• May overshare• Occasional letdowns• “I believe in people”• “Happy to help!”• “Sure, why not?”
Highly Open• Sees best in everyone• Shares personal details readily• Accepts claims easily• Overlooks red flags• Vulnerability to scams• Boundary issues• Potential exploitation• “Everyone deserves a chance”• “I’m an open book”• “Of course I trust you!”

The Neuroscience of Trust: What Happens In Your Brain

Inside your brain, the development of trust involves a sophisticated cocktail of hormones, neural activity, and psychological processing. Understanding this internal chemistry can help you better navigate both personal and professional relationships.

The Trust Hormone: Oxytocin

Imagine you’re at a party. You’ve just had a great conversation with someone new, and you feel that warm glow of connection. What you’re experiencing is oxytocin in action—sometimes called the “trust hormone” or “cuddle hormone.” 

A fascinating series of studies involving monetary “trust games” revealed just how powerful this molecule is, both in terms of being trusted and trusting others:

  • When people received trust from others in the form of monetary investment, their brains produced more oxytocin. In turn, higher oxytocin levels were associated with more trustworthy behaviors.
  • When participants were given synthetic oxytocin through a nasal spray, they gave a stranger 80% more money2 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001128#s2 than those who were administered a placebo. 
  • Despite the increased spending on strangers, elevated levels of oxytocin did not lead to participants becoming more reckless3 https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03701 with their money; instead, it specifically reduced their fear of trusting others without affecting their general decision-making abilities. 

The Trust-Stress Paradox

There’s a fascinating twist in our trust-building biology. Intuitively, we might expect oxytocin levels to be high when we’re relaxed and feeling good; on the flip side, being stressed out seems like it could inhibit our oxytocin production, shutting down our trust systems.

However, research shows that when you’re stressed, your body actually increases oxytocin production—a surprising survival mechanism that may have evolved to encourage us to seek social support during difficult times.

This creates what we like to call the trust-stress paradox:

  • Stress triggers oxytocin release in both the brain and bloodstream
  • Oxytocin then helps regulate our stress response
  • Higher oxytocin can make us more likely to trust and bond with others

That doesn’t mean chronic stress is a good thing, though! If you’re constantly in a state of stress, your hormonal responses (including oxytocin production) can become dysregulated, eventually impairing your ability to trust and bond with others. Here’s a quick summary on how stress impacts your trust patterns: 

StatePhysiological ResponseImpact on Trust-Building
Acute stressIncreased oxytocin (and stress hormones)May seek social support; trust-building is easier
Chronic stressDysregulated stress responseMay impair social bonding and trust-building
Recovery phaseBalanced hormone levelsReturn to normal trust patterns

Your Brain’s Trust Detection System

Beyond hormones, your brain employs two distinct systems when deciding who to trust—a fascinating interplay between lightning-fast intuition and careful analysis that psychologists call dual-process theory4 https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1984.tb01915.x .

System 1: The Intuitive Trust Detector

Your brain’s first line of trust assessment is remarkably quick. Within 100 milliseconds—faster than you can consciously register someone’s face—this system has already made its first trust calculation. This rapid-fire system processes:

  • Facial expressions (learn about how to read and decode the 7 microexpressions here)
  • Voice tone
  • Gut feelings
  • Body language (like crossed arms or backward leaning)

Think of System 1 as your social autopilot. It’s drawing on a lifetime of experiences and evolutionary wisdom to make split-second trust decisions. While this system works quickly, it changes its patterns slowly, which is why first impressions can be so lasting.

System 2: The Trust Analyzer

Your second system is more like a careful detective. It’s slower but more thorough, engaging when:

  • Stakes are high
  • Situations are complex
  • You have time to analyze
  • Previous experiences don’t provide clear answers

This analytical system helps you:

  • Take others’ perspectives
  • Weigh evidence carefully
  • Consider context
  • Override snap judgments when necessary

The real magic happens in how these systems work together. Your intuitive system might flag someone as trustworthy based on their warm smile and open body language, while your analytical system then verifies this by examining their track record and behavior over time. 

Trust Across Different Contexts

Trust isn’t one-size-fits-all—it adapts to different situations and relationships. Understanding these variations can help you navigate different social contexts more effectively.

Personal Relationships: The Emotional Trust Zone

In personal relationships, trust is primarily built through emotional connection and shared experiences. This is where oxytocin plays its strongest role, creating those deep bonds that characterize our closest relationships.

Research has consistently found that higher oxytocin levels are associated with emotional closeness, positive affect, affectionate touch, and even just thinking about a partner! What’s more, oxytocin levels are correlated with relationship longevity. 

Professional Relationships: Trust Through Competence

Professional trust operates differently. While emotions still matter, competence and reliability are more important. This is why a colleague who’s friendly but unreliable ultimately earns less trust than one who’s more reserved but consistently delivers.

In professional settings, trust can be built through small but significant moments that demonstrate reliability:

  • Meeting deadlines consistently
  • Following through on commitments
  • Showing up prepared
  • Admitting and correcting mistakes
  • Maintaining confidentiality

What is Organizational Trust?

Remember that party where oxytocin helped you connect with a stranger? Now imagine trying to create that same feeling of connection in a workplace with hundreds of people, complex hierarchies, and high stakes. This is the challenge of organizational trust.

Modern workplaces are essentially large-scale trust experiments. We’re asking people to collaborate with strangers, share resources, and work toward common goals—all things that require significant trust. The organizations that succeed are the ones that understand and work with our brain’s trust mechanisms, not against them.

Our founder, Vanessa Van Edwards runs corporate workshops, sales kick-offs and trainings on building organizational trust. This is an important skill for a company to invest in.

8-Science Backed Tips to Build Trust in the Workplace

Let’s explore how understanding the science of trust can transform workplace dynamics. 

Celebrate Excellence Immediately

Imagine completing a challenging project. In one scenario, your achievement goes unnoticed. In another, your colleague immediately celebrates your success in a team meeting. Your brain responds very differently to these situations.

When recognition comes immediately after achievement, your brain releases both oxytocin and dopamine—a powerful combination that strengthens social bonds and reinforces successful behaviors. This is why timing matters so much in recognition.

Real-world success stories of recognizing excellence:

  • Salesforce
    • Implemented the “V2MOM Awards” where employees nominate colleagues for going above and beyond.
    • Result: 90% of employees consider it a great place to work, compared to 57% at a typical U.S. company.
  • Airbnb
    • Outlined an objective of developing “workplace as an experience” for its employees
    • Result: Ranked 1st on Glassdoor’s ranking of “Best Workplaces in 2016”.
  • Cisco
    • Spends about 1% of its payroll on Connected Recognition, its employee rewards and recognition program. 
    • Result: 96% of employees consider it a great place to work. Number 1 in Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For 2022 & Fortune Best Workplaces in Technology.

Simple ways to celebrate daily wins:

  • Send a quick “kudos” message right after witnessing great work
  • Start team meetings by spotlighting someone’s recent achievement
  • Create a “#wins” channel in Slack to share daily victories
  • Learn each person’s recognition style (public praise vs. private notes)
  • Share specific impact (“Your idea saved us 3 hours this week!”)

Enable Autonomy

Research5 https://www.askcody.com/blog/morale-and-productivity-spiral shows that autonomy and trust create a powerful upward spiral in organizations. When people are trusted with autonomy, they tend to act more trustworthily, which leads to more trust and greater autonomy.

When you micromanage, you’re telling someone “I don’t trust your judgment.” Instead:

Start with a Freedom Friday

  • Let team members experiment with their own work style
  • Pick their project approach
  • Choose their workspace
  • Set their meeting schedule

As trust builds, expand to bigger decisions like project ownership and budget calls. Remember: control freaks rarely inspire greatness.

Quick Action: The 48-Hour Test

Pick one task this week. Instead of giving detailed instructions, share only the goal and deadline. Step back for 48 hours. You might be surprised—people often exceed expectations when given room to innovate.

Build Intentional Relationships

Despite our increasingly digital workplace, our brains still crave face-to-face interaction. In fact, in-person social connection is one of the most powerful trust-building mechanisms we have.

No, this doesn’t mean forcing everyone back to fluorescent-lit offices or planning another dreaded “mandatory fun” virtual happy hour. Instead, think strategic social connections that actually work:

  • Launch a skill swap session: Let the Excel wizard teach the marketing guru, and vice versa
  • Create random coffee matches: 15-minute virtual coffee dates with colleagues who rarely see each other
  • Start cross-department challenges: Nothing builds trust like figuring out a tough problem together

Create Achievable Challenges

Remember the trust-stress paradox we covered earlier? As it turns out, our brains are wired to bond through shared challenges and stressful times—it’s why soldiers form such strong trust bonds during training. But there’s a sweet spot. Too little challenge breeds boredom and disengagement; too much creates chronic stress and fear.

The ideal trust-building challenge has four key elements:

  1. Clear but stretching goals
    • Everyone needs to understand exactly what success looks like, but it should require reaching beyond their comfort zone.
  2. Achievable with effort
    • The challenge must feel conquerable with hard work, creating that perfect balance between difficulty and possibility.
  3. Requires collaboration
    • The task should be designed so team members need to rely on each other’s strengths to succeed.
  4. Shows visible progress
    • Regular milestones and clear metrics help people see how their efforts are moving the needle forward.

Action Step: Next time you’re designing a team project, rate it on each of these four elements using a simple 1-5 scale. If any element scores below a 3, adjust your plan before launching. This quick assessment can mean the difference between a challenge that builds trust and one that breaks it.

Be Transparent

Here’s a surprising fact: uncertainty about what’s happening in an organization creates the same type of stress response in your brain as physical danger. This is why lack of transparency can literally make people sick with worry.

Smart organizations counter this by creating regular, reliable flows of information that help people feel secure and valued. This doesn’t mean sharing everything; it means sharing the right things at the right time.

Consider this transparency hierarchy:

Information LevelWhat to ShareImpact on Trust
StrategicCompany direction, market positionCreates context and purpose
OperationalProject updates, process changesBuilds confidence
TeamGoals, challenges, successesEncourages collaboration
IndividualPerformance feedback, growth opportunitiesDevelops personal trust

Action Step: create a weekly transparency update

Take 15 minutes every Monday to share:

  • One big-picture goal update
  • One project status
  • One upcoming change
  • One question for team input

Keep it short, make it consistent, and invite dialogue!

Show Appropriate Vulnerability

Here’s something counterintuitive: showing appropriate vulnerability actually increases perceptions of leadership strength. 

When leaders show genuine vulnerability—admitting mistakes, asking for help, sharing challenges—it triggers oxytocin release in their team members. This creates a trust loop, where vulnerability leads to deeper connection, which enables more vulnerability, and so on.

But there’s an important catch: vulnerability must be balanced with competence. Here’s how to strike that balance:

Good vulnerability looks like:

  • Admitting when you don’t have all the answers
  • Sharing relevant personal challenges
  • Asking for input and ideas
  • Acknowledging mistakes quickly

Poor vulnerability looks like:

  • Oversharing personal problems
  • Using vulnerability to avoid responsibility
  • Appearing consistently uncertain
  • Undermining your own expertise

Action Step: Move on from “failures” by re-framing it as a learning experience. When things don’t go as planned:

  • Share what happened
  • What you learned
  • How you’ll approach it differently
  • Ask for team input

Example: “The client presentation could’ve gone better. I learned we need more prep time. Next time, I’ll start planning a week earlier. What other improvements would you suggest?”

You can be vulnerable and charismatic. Vanessa Van Edwards dives into this in her bestselling book on social skills? Check out our resource:

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Support Holistic Growth

When organizations invest in people’s growth, they trigger patterns of mutual investment that strengthen trust over time. But here’s the crucial insight: this investment needs to go beyond just job skills.

High-trust organizations take a holistic approach to development:

Professional Growth:

  • Skills training aligned with personal interests
  • Career path exploration
  • Leadership development opportunities
  • Industry certification support

Personal Growth:

  • Work-life integration coaching
  • Stress management training
  • Financial wellness programs
  • Health and fitness support

Action Step: Ask each team member to pick one professional skill and one personal goal they’d like to develop. Then match them with resources, whether it’s a LinkedIn course, mentor, or wellness app subscription.

The key: Let them choose what matters to them, not what you think they need. Sometimes that yoga class does more for productivity than another Excel workshop.

Practice Active Empathy

While passive empathy (understanding others’ feelings) is important, active empathy—taking concrete steps to support others—builds trust much more effectively. 

For example, here’s an “empathy map” you can use to identify challenges and develop actionable steps to support employees at all levels within your organization:

EmployeeChallengesSupport NeededTrust-Building Actions
New hiresBeing overwhelmed, imposter syndrome, uncertaintyClear guidance, connectionBuddy system, structured onboarding
Mid-careerWork-life balance, growthFlexibility, developmentFlexible scheduling, mentoring opportunities
Senior StaffLegacy, influenceRecognition, impactKnowledge sharing platforms, advisory roles

Looking for more tips on increasing your empathy? Check out The 15 Habits of Highly Empathetic People

Measuring Trust in the Workplace

You can’t improve what you don’t measure, but measuring trust is trickier than tracking typical business metrics. 

Unlike sales figures or production quotas, trust reveals itself through patterns of behavior and performance over time. Smart organizations take a holistic approach, combining both quantitative data and qualitative insights to create a complete picture of organizational trust. 

Here are some ways to measure trust in the workplace:

Behavioral Indicators:

  • Voluntary information sharing 
    • Do people proactively share knowledge and updates, or do they hoard information? Track how often employees volunteer insights without being asked.
  • Cross-team collaboration requests 
    • Watch for teams actively seeking out partnerships with other departments versus working in silos. High-trust organizations see more spontaneous collaboration.
  • Innovation suggestions 
    • Monitor both the quantity and quality of new ideas submitted. People only share creative solutions when they trust they’ll be taken seriously.
  • Peer support instances 
    • Look for informal mentoring, skill-sharing, and colleagues helping each other without being asked. These organic support networks signal strong trust.
  • Conflict resolution patterns 
    • Note how quickly and effectively conflicts get resolved. In high-trust environments, disagreements tend to be addressed directly and constructively.

Performance Metrics:

  • Employee retention rates 
    • Track not just overall turnover, but patterns within specific teams and departments. Sudden spikes in departures often signal trust issues.
  • Productivity trends 
    • Compare output across teams and over time. High-trust groups maintain consistent productivity even during challenging periods.
  • Customer satisfaction scores 
    • Monitor external trust through customer feedback. Internal trust issues often show up first in customer experience metrics.
  • Error reporting frequency
    • Look for environments where mistakes are promptly reported and treated as learning opportunities rather than hidden out of fear.
  • Project completion speeds 
    • Measure how quickly teams move from planning to execution. Trust enables faster decision-making and fewer bottlenecks.

The ROI of Workplace Trust

While trust might seem like a “soft” skill, its impact on business performance is anything but soft. Recent research has revealed striking differences between high-trust and low-trust organizations, with implications that reach far beyond employee satisfaction.

The Trust Performance Multiplier

A groundbreaking study6 https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust comparing high-trust organizations with their low-trust counterparts revealed some remarkable findings. Employees in high-trust organizations don’t just feel better—they perform dramatically better across every meaningful metric.

Let’s look at the numbers:

MetricImprovement in High-Trust OrganizationsReal-World Impact
Energy at work106% higherMore innovation, better customer service
Engagement76% higherLower turnover, higher productivity
Productivity50% higherImproved bottom-line performance
Job satisfaction29% higherBetter talent retention
Stress levels74% lowerFewer sick days, better decision-making
Burnout40% lessSustained high performance

But here’s what’s particularly fascinating: these improvements compound each other. When people have more energy and less stress, they’re more engaged. When they’re more engaged, productivity rises. When productivity rises, job satisfaction increases. It’s a virtuous cycle that keeps amplifying itself.

The Financial Impact

The trust dividend shows up clearly in financial performance. Organizations with high-trust cultures see:

  • 2-3x greater stock market returns than average7 https://psni.org/resources/blog/economic-impact-of-trust-in-the-workplace/
  • Improved operating margins
  • 50% lower turnover rate than industry competitors
  • 2.8 to 3.2 points higher customer satisfaction rating

According to a study8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2023/01/08/trusted-companies-outperform-their-peers-by-400-new-study-shows/ by Deloitte, high-trust companies outperformed their peers by 400%!

The Cost of Low Trust

Understanding the benefits of high trust becomes even clearer when we look at what low trust costs organizations. Beyond the obvious metrics, low trust can lead to hidden costs that eat away at efficiency and effectiveness.

In low-trust environments, people spend significant time and energy on:

  • Documenting everything to protect themselves
  • Double-checking others’ work
  • Building political alliances
  • Managing up and around obstacles
  • Covering their backs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Psychology of Trust

How quickly do people decide whether to trust someone?

People make initial trust judgments remarkably fast—within 100 milliseconds, or about a tenth of a second, of seeing someone’s face. This snap judgment is a product of the brain’s “System 1,” an intuitive, rapid processing system that relies on subtle cues like facial expressions, body language, and vocal tone to evaluate trustworthiness almost instantly.

While these instant assessments are based on gut feelings and can be lasting, they are also adaptable. The brain’s “System 2,” a slower, analytical process, may engage when we have time or reason to examine the first impression more closely. This more reflective system factors in experiences and evidence to confirm or revise our initial judgment, especially in complex or high-stakes situations.

Can lost trust be rebuilt?

Yes, trust can be rebuilt, but it takes time, consistent actions, and honesty. A genuine apology, openness, and steady commitment to reliable behavior are essential. Rebuilding trust also requires patience from both sides, as the hurt party gradually regains confidence. Though the process may change the relationship, it can lead to a stronger bond founded on honesty and respect.

What’s the difference between trust and psychological safety?

Trust is a belief in someone’s reliability, integrity, or competence—it’s an expectation that they’ll act in your best interest or meet commitments. Trust often builds gradually over time and can apply to both personal and professional relationships.

Psychological safety, on the other hand, is a shared feeling within a group or team that it’s safe to take risks or make mistakes without fear of punishment, ridicule, or negative consequences. It’s more about the environment than individual behavior, fostering open communication and encouraging people to express ideas, questions, or concerns without feeling threatened.

In essence, while trust is about confidence in an individual’s intentions, psychological safety is a group dynamic that enables honest expression and vulnerability within a team.

Does trust look the same across cultures?

The biology of trust is universal—we all have the same basic neural machinery. However, the expression and building of trust varies significantly across cultures due to different:

– Social norms
– Communication styles
– Value systems
– Relationship expectations

For example, in individualistic cultures like the U.S., trust is often based on personal qualities like competence. In collectivist cultures, like many in Asia, trust is more about relationships and group connections.

Strategies for Effective Trust-Building

The science of trust reveals several key insights that can transform how we build and maintain relationships:

  1. Trust is a biological process that can be understood and influenced through specific actions and environments. Oxytocin is a particularly important hormone in the development of trust
  2. Stress can have a surprisingly beneficial effect on trust and social bonding, but not if it’s chronic. 
  3. Building trust requires a balance of quick intuition and slower, more analytical assessment.
  4. Organizational trust can be systematically developed through evidence-based practices.
  5. High workplace trust directly impacts performance, boosting engagement, overall productivity, and the bottom line. 

By understanding and applying these principles, you can develop stronger, more resilient relationships—both in your personal life and in the workplace.Want even more tips for building trust at work? Check out our comprehensive guide here: 12 Science-Based Tips to Build Trust in The Workplace.

Article sources
  1. https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/academics-research/trust-project/videos/waytz-ep-2/
  2. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001128#s2
  3. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature03701
  4. https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1984.tb01915.x
  5. https://www.askcody.com/blog/morale-and-productivity-spiral
  6. https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-neuroscience-of-trust
  7. https://psni.org/resources/blog/economic-impact-of-trust-in-the-workplace/
  8. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2023/01/08/trusted-companies-outperform-their-peers-by-400-new-study-shows/

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