Trusting the look and feel of the work setting

Do you believe in your new employer? If not, maybe it’s the lack of a pleasing environment. Assistant Professor of Management Michael Baer delved into how the physical surroundings of an organization influence employee confidence.

Do you trust your employer? If not, maybe it’s the lack of direct sunlight, the rows of cubes, and angular walls that are casting a negative impression at the office.

Companies like Apple, Google, and LinkedIn are well-known for their smart and inviting workplace designs, using inventive architectural features, natural touches such as indigenous plant life, and creatively arranged work hubs to attract — and keep — employees. 

Office spaces that are easy on the senses are clearly on trend. But is workplace beauty just skin deep? Or does the visual appearance of a company help build trustworthiness among workers and create a perception that the organization is able, benevolent, and has integrity, particularly in the eyes of a new hire?

Assistant Professor of Management Michael Baer delved into the trust factor among work newcomers in his research titled, “Trusting the Look and Feel: Situational Normality, Situational Aesthetics, and the Perceived Trustworthiness of Organizations.”

Glue that holds organizations together

“Trust is the glue that holds an organization together,” Baer explains. “It’s not always in the forefront of our minds, but one of the benefits of trust is that it allows people to work together efficiently.” On the other hand, a lack of trust is the reason employees quickly leave an organization, don’t work well together in groups or teams, and don’t get along with supervisors and managers, he adds.

To understand how the physical surroundings of an organization influence employee trust, Baer conducted a two-part investigation. In the first phase, he did a field study of 165 Irish accountants training with Big Four firms, collecting impressions from their first day on the job through a 10-week period. The second phase of the research trial included a random, controlled lab study. 

As part of his observations, Baer looked at two perspectives: situational normality, or the degree to which the work setting appears customary and in proper order, and situational aesthetics, how much the work setting is pleasing and attractive, to gauge the process of trust formation.

“If you walk into a bank, you expect to see lots of marble or wood, high ceilings, and an orderly appearance, which conveys that the organization is prosperous. The idea behind situational normality is it’s a base level of what appears to be typical or normal,” Baer says.

People also use mental shortcuts to determine what is beautiful and good, which illustrates the concept of situational aesthetics. “For example, research teaches us that when we see attractive people, we perceive them as smarter, more confident, and having more integrity than others,” he says. Using that as a baseline for his research, Baer assumed that organizations with more appealing work settings might be perceived as good and more trustworthy, too.

Though scholars have previously studied the role of cognitive reasoning in shaping organizational trust, prior research doesn’t predict or explain the other aspects that influence trustworthiness. Baer’s research is unique in that it not only examines what is expected, but it also takes into account the importance of the subconscious, or irrational cues, apparent in the physical environment that creates trust.

“Even though existing research suggests it’s a process that doesn’t matter, it does,” Baer says. “There are many signals that affect trust in the early stages of an employee’s experience, like those triggered by building design and workspace settings, long before other aspects of trust are formed.” 

The attraction factor­

How much? Outcomes from Baer’s study revealed that the physical setting is just as significant as cognitive factors in trust formation, especially among the Irish accountants, who indicated the physical surroundings continued to have an effect on their view of trust 10 weeks into their job training, according to Baer.

From a bottom-line perspective, Baer’s research supports the notion that employees who form favorable impressions about the physical setting tend to be engaged in more learning behavior — they are willing to ask more questions, take chances, and go beyond skill sets — which is directly linked to positive performance outcomes. 

“While there is certain risk-taking that is negative, some risk behavior encourages employees to ask for feedback and push the limits of their skillset.”

Understanding the relationship between aesthetics and trust also can be beneficial to managers who have direct control over the physical environment, Baer says. “An attractive physical setting is an effective impression management tool. It increases collaboration, openness, and creativity among a workforce — i.e., a willingness to be more trusting.”

So for management, optimizing physical functionality and creating pleasing workplace design has a tangible payoff in the form of increased employee engagement.

“It obviously costs more money to make office buildings and workspace more appealing, but if those who make such decisions know that it has a favorable effect on employee performance and increases learning behavior, the positive outcomes are worth the investment,” he says. Putting time and resources into new building design or workspace renovations have practical relevance for organizations, too: It demonstrates care and concern toward employees, Baer adds.

What is visually pleasing to one is certainly subjective in terms of details. In future research, Baer hopes to dive deeper below the surface by examining what aspects of the physical setting are most relevant to trust, such as natural décor, high-quality lighting, cathedral ceilings, as well as office configurations like closed doors versus open workspaces.

In the meantime, his research gives organizations more insight into how to leverage employee trust by making their physical office characteristics work in their favor.