- October 22, 2025
- Posted by: Laetitia.Camberou@workplaceoptions.com
- Categories:
Insights from Workplace Options reveal how peer-driven programs drive engagement, combat burnout, and enhance workplace performance.
Trust is the foundation of every workplace: crucial and challenging to build or repair, and impossible to fake. Yet, in a world evolving faster than ever, trust is eroding in the places it matters most.
“Trust is never built through policies: it is built through people,” said Alan King, President and CEO of Workplace Options. “When employees are empowered to help and respect one another, it creates a ripple effect across the organization. Peer-driven initiatives succeed because they prevent burnout, and they build resilience, belonging, and performance in ways traditional programs simply cannot achieve.”
New insights from Workplace Options (WPO) Center for Organizational Effectiveness reveal how peer-powered programs are becoming the antidote to burnout, doubt, and distress proving that while technology can transform and improve how we work, people will always define why we work. Both are critical and connected to the future of workplace wellbeing.
To examine the deliberate balance between progress and purpose, WPO Center for Organizational Effectiveness hosted a virtual, global summit on October 22, 2025, titled “Building Workplace Trust: The Key to Organizational Health and Effectiveness.” The half-day event brought together CHROs, senior leaders, and people managers from around the world to explore data-driven insights and human-powered solutions that improve inclusion, strengthen psychological safety, and remind us that the future of work will always have a heartbeat.
The Trust Gap in a Digital World
As technology accelerates, human connection may become the rarest resource. Recent studies reported by Fast Company show that nearly a third of Gen Z employees now turn to AI chatbots for emotional support: a signal that digital tools are beginning to replace the relationships they were meant to enhance.
“Technology can, and should, advance how we provide access to mental health services, but humanity ensures we care in the right way,” said Dr. Kennette Harris, Chief Clinical Officer at WPO. “AI will increase access and efficiency, but it cannot replicate empathy. Peer-to-peer programs create what technology cannot deliver: sense of belonging, psychological safety, and the confidence that someone real is there to help.”
The Power of Peer Programs
Hosted by Mary Ellen Gornick, Founding Partner of the WPO Consulting Group, and Bianca Buie, M.A., Ambassador Program Manager with the WPO Center for Organizational Effectiveness, the summit shared data-driven practices for designing initiatives that achieve measurable results and a culture of trust and respect.
“Workplace trust creates the foundation for people to perform at their best,” said Gornick. “In a time when burnout and uncertainty are top of mind, employees need to feel valued at work, and they need to feel safe to be their authentic self. Peer-focused programs are one of the most effective ways to build that trust and drive engagement.”
Key takeaways for leaders:
- Develop and deliver peer-driven initiatives that strengthen resilience, inclusion, and wellbeing.
- Understand how to proactively address burnout and enhance belonging through authentic connection.
- Future-proof teams by creating sustainable, trust-based networks.
The Hidden Cost of Eroding Trust:
- According to Gallup and Workhuman, employee burnout costs the global economy $322 billion annually in lost productivity and turnover.
- In the U.S. alone, the impact ranges from $4,000 to $21,000 per employee per year, driven largely by absenteeism and healthcare costs (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2025).
- Incivility carries its own price: SHRM’s latest Civility Index reports $2.1 billion per day in reduced productivity due to disrespectful behavior at work.
The Legal Imperative
Beyond the need to prevent toxic workplace culture, the responsibility to protect employee wellbeing is now a global requirement. Nearly 100 countries have regulations mandating that employers identify and mitigate psychosocial risks such as bullying, isolation, and excessive workload: including Mexico, Chile, the UK, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and all EU member nations.
Failure to act can destroy psychological safety, leading to toxic relationships, low productivity, and high turnover. The organizations that succeed will be those that treat trust as both a moral and a legal mandate.
To learn more about how workplace stress varies across the globe, and what organizations ca do, read the Psychosocial Risk by Geography Report Here.
Summit Highlights
Featured sessions included:
- The Global State of Trust: Edelman Canada Interim CEO Scott Evans shared findings from the Edelman Trust Barometer and WPO data on where and why trust is breaking down and how to rebuild it.
- The Hidden Risks of AI Adoption: Insights on psychosocial risks tied to rapid digital transformation and how to implement AI responsibly.
- How Incivility Undermines Trust: The link between disrespect, burnout, and culture erosion.
- Peer Relationships as a Cornerstone of Engagement: How Ambassador Programs scale trust and strengthen psychological safety.
To learn more about WPO’s peer-driven programs and the Center for Organizational Effectiveness, visit consulting.workplaceoptions.com or contact WPOGlobalConsulting@workplaceoptions.com
To help employees and their families when they need emotional, practical, and physical wellbeing support, our services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, delivered from service centers located around the world. Workplace Options (WPO) delivers high-quality care digitally and in-person to more than 88 million people representing 113,000 organizations in more than 200 countries and territories.
About The Center for Organizational Effectiveness
The Center for Organizational Effectiveness is Workplace Options (WPO) global consulting and thought leadership hub dedicated to helping organizations build thriving workplaces and resilient teams, on a global scale and with local impact. Leveraging real-time wellbeing insights from millions of interactions across 200+ countries and 68+ languages, the Center provides data-driven strategies in employee engagement, psychological safety, psychosocial risk management, and inclusive leadership. By integrating wellbeing into workplace strategy, we help organizations create environments where employees feel protected, empowered, and enabled to thrive, wherever they are.
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