Benefits June 19, 2001

Co-Worker Trust Has Its Limits

While the vast majority of people trust their coworkers on employment matters, that confidence softens when career advice and personal confidences are on the line.
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The vast majority (88%) trusts their colleagues to be truthful in meetings, report accurate data, and to maintain confidential information, with 50% reporting that they trust them very much.

However only 64% of the poll would trust their coworkers to provide reliable career advice and just 57% believed that their colleagues would keep personal or professional information confidential.

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Suspicious Singles

Interestingly, married respondents were found to be more trusting of their co- workers than their more suspicious single counterparts

  • with 56% of married respondents trusting their co-workers very much at work, and
  • some 45% trusting colleagues outside of work,
  • compared with only 38% of single respondents trusting their co-workers very much at work, and
  • 29% trusting them outside of work.

Findings also show that employees would trust their co-workers:

  • with reporting accurate data on projects, cited by 79%,
  • collaborating and sharing relevant information, mentioned by three quarters of respondents,
  • sharing the work load on specific projects, noted by 75% of the poll, and
  • being truthful in meetings, cited by 73%.

The survey also found older workers to be more trusting than their younger counterparts with work related activities, and full-time workers were more likely to trust colleagues than part-timers.

Taking Advice

Participants were also asked to if they would trust their colleagues on a range of matters, results showed:

  • almost 90% trust their co workers recommendations on car repair shops, good plumbers, and the like,
  • almost three quarters value their opinions on movies, restaurants and politics,
  • just over 60% would trust their colleagues with family activities such as baby-sitting and carpooling, and
  • a little over half would trust them enough to sell or buy items from them.

In addition, over 80% trust their colleagues on matters unrelated to work, such as baby-sitting, carpooling or for referrals, and 40% report trusting their colleagues very much with these concerns.

The Xylo Report, commissioned by Xylo, Inc., a provider of online work/life solutions, surveyed 1,003 US adults.

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