Trust in governments has fallen dramatically in recent decades, but it might seem a stretch to associate this fall with anything work-related.  Research from Washington State University suggests that such an attitude would be misguided, however, as trust in government appears to be closely linked with our feelings of security at work and loyalty to our employer.

The researchers surveyed several hundred American adults about their trust levels in both state and federal government, as well as a number of work-related issues, such as their wellbeing levels.  The results revealed that higher levels of trust in government were linked with better workplace attitudes and overall wellbeing.

“It may come down to what it means psychologically to be able to trust in entities other than yourself, whether that’s the federal or state government, your organization or your supervisor,” the researchers explain. “It’s these internalized beliefs that another entity cares about my well-being and has good intentions—that kind of trust is crucial to facilitating relationships with other individuals and organizations.”

Fall in trust

The researchers explain that trust in government has fallen considerably in the past 60 years.  Whereas around 80% of people trusted the government in the 1960s, this has plummeted to around 20% today.  They argue that this lack of trust is likely to have a significant impact on our work and health.

The results reveal that there are different levels of trust throughout society, with around a quarter identified as having high trust levels in both federal and state government; another quarter trusting the state government but not federal; another quarter who distrusted both forms of government and a tiny group who trusted the federal government but not the state.

“We found that people can have different trusting profiles, so they either felt they can trust the federal government, but not the state or vice versa,” the researchers say. “The best-case scenario was when people trusted both types of government, rather than the people who didn’t trust either or felt neutral.”

Of course, these divisions may be partly because of the divisions that exist due to who is in power at any given moment.  For instance, the surveys took place during the Trump presidency, with state governance shared equally between Republican and Democratic governors.

The authors believe that their results indicate the importance of trying to bolster trust at all levels as much as possible, with one way of doing this to ensure that communication is both clear and transparent.

“Consistency of messaging is really important,” they conclude. “That’s a challenge in the pandemic because the situation is changing over time, but part of the messaging has to explain to people the rationale for why policies and recommendations are changing, and how they are being made with their best interests in mind.”