Space for emotions? A narrative portrait of restoring trust in the workplace

Authors

• Veera Pöllänen Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3785-4943
• Mirjami Ikonen Itä-Suomen yliopisto https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9915-0927

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33352/prlg.145105

Keywords:

emotions, interaction, narrative portraiture, trust in leadership, rebuilding trust, trust in organizations

Abstract

Trust within work relationships always has the risk of being broken, with potentially damaging consequences for organizations. This study focuses on rebuilding trust between a leader and employees after a trust breach. The study aims to id entify means in which the leader can rebuild trust with employees and to examine the emotions related to the process of rebuilding trust. The research data consists of 15 personal narratives that describe the process of trust restoration and the emotions associated with the process. The narrative portraiture method is used to create a portrait of a leader who restores trust in a workplace. Through the portrait, we present our interpretation of how a leader can rebuild trust and the role of emotions in the process. As a result, we suggest that making space to talk about feelings and listening appreciatively are key factors in restoring trust. The findings suggest that rebuilding trust is an active process that requires time and mutual involvement and may involve strong emotions. Re spectful discussion of the emotions aroused by the trust breach and its rebuilding appears to foster trust restoration.