Building trust is key to successful workplace relationships. However, in an age of great political divide, people are often hesitant to trust others with differing ideologies. This creates a problem for organizations whose employees need to collaborate to make decisions and complete tasks. Given this issue, researchers in this study (Hagmann et al., 2024) explored how one strategy—sharing personal, revealing stories—may bridge ideological divides by demonstrating vulnerability.
BUILDING TRUST ACROSS IDEOLOGICAL DIVIDES
The researchers conducted five different studies using online participants. They conducted experiments where participants read an opposing view to their own on a controversial topic (e.g., minimum wage, abortion). In some cases, the messages included a story from a third-party or a data-backed story to support the position. In other cases, the stories were conveyed with a personal, revealing story, such as how increasing the minimum wage harmed a person’s small business. Participants then had to rate the trustworthiness of the person conveying the information.
Across each study, the researchers found that when the fictitious person shared a personal, revealing narrative, participants were more likely to trust that person. Participants felt that the personal story made the other person seem vulnerable, which also made it seem like the person had good intentions and was telling the truth.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS
This study demonstrates that revealing personal stories can help foster trust, even when people may disagree on the underlying issue. Practically, this results in a quick and free intervention for organizations, which may simply encourage employees to share personal information about themselves to promote trust. This could also be extended to leaders who are trying to build trust with their followers. However, the authors caution that more research is needed on what type of personal information is appropriate at work and if there could be backlash effects if too much personal information is shared.
Hagmann, D., Minson, J. A., & Tinsley, C. H. (2024). Personal narratives build trust across ideological divides. Journal of Applied Psychology, 109(11), 1693–1715.
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