Building and Sustaining Trust in an Increasingly Virtual World of Work
Trust is a foundational element of organizational performance and culture, shaping how employees collaborate, engage, and commit within increasingly complex work environments. In the knowledge economy, high levels of trust have become a source of competitive advantage, linked to stronger morale, higher productivity, and lower employee turnover. As organizations continue to shift toward remote and virtual work—accelerated dramatically by the COVID-19 pandemic—the mechanisms through which trust is established and maintained have fundamentally changed. While trust can be built in virtual settings, it requires more deliberate structures, behaviours, and leadership practices than traditional face-to-face environments. This article examines the unique challenges of cultivating trust in remote and virtual teams and proposes a practical framework that highlights the foundational, organizational, and individual components necessary to build and sustain trust in a digitally mediated workplace.
