The Neuroscience of Organizational Trust and Business Performance: Findings From United States Working Adults and an Intervention at an Online Retailer

The study investigates whether organizational trust and a clear, transcendent purpose improve business-relevant outcomes such as productivity, retention, job satisfaction, well-being, and earnings. Motivated by critiques of traditional labor economics that often assume employees shirk and require close monitoring, the authors posit that human-centric organizations can elicit discretionary effort. Building on Drucker’s view of “knowledge workers,” they argue that many employees seek autonomy, honesty, appreciation, and meaningful work that positively impacts communities. The research tests the hypothesis that specific, measurable trust-building behaviors among colleagues (captured by the OXYTOCIN framework) and alignment with organizational purpose jointly enhance performance and well-being. The paper’s importance lies in demonstrating that trust and purpose are measurable cultural constructs that managers can systematically manage to improve outcomes for both firms and employees.

Prior work shows that generalized social trust correlates with economic growth and reduced transaction costs at the national level. Neuroscience research links oxytocin release to trust, generosity, and prosocial behaviors, suggesting a biological mechanism by which positive social interactions at work can increase trust and make work enjoyable. Laboratory and field studies by the authors and others indicate that prosocial, citizenship behaviors trigger oxytocin and enhance motivation and productivity. Synthesizing this literature, the authors identify eight trust-related, manager-influenced behaviors (OXYTOCIN: Ovation, eXpectation, Yield, Transfer, Openness, Caring, Invest, Natural) and posit that a clear, other-focused organizational purpose further motivates effort and reduces physiologic arousal, consistent with oxytocin’s effects. The proposed causal model relates Trust and Purpose to productivity, retention, satisfaction, and well-being, predicting complementary effects.

Study 1 (National Sample): A nationally representative survey of United States working adults (N = 1,095; data collected February 2016 via Qualtrics) matched demographics for age, sex, ethnicity, and geography, with 79% in the for-profit sector and the remainder in government/nonprofits. Organizational Trust was measured as the average of eight OXYTOCIN factors. Purpose was measured as the average of three items assessing alignment with organizational values. Dependent variables: productivity (self-report on 0–100 scale and “vigor” subset from Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), retention intention (likelihood of staying 12 months), job satisfaction (7-point scale), colleague closeness (Inclusion of Others in Self, IOS), satisfaction with life (Diener SWL), chronic stress (7-point scale), depersonalization (Maslach Burnout Inventory), Joy at work (two-item average), and income (in $25,000 intervals). Controls: weekly hours, age, sex, marital status, conscientiousness (Big Five Inventory). Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha for OXYTOCIN factors a = 0.93. Analytical approach: t-tests, correlations, OLS regressions; ordered-logistic and log-log models for predictive accuracy and effect sizes (elasticities). Analyses conducted in aggregate and by categories (e.g., sector, trust levels). Study 2 (Field Intervention): A division of a large online retailer (OnRet; revenue > $1 billion) with low morale/high turnover was selected. Baseline survey measured OXYTOCIN factors, Trust, Purpose, and retention (N = 59). The intervention targeted “Natural” (authenticity at work) using microlearning: 10 animated whiteboard videos over 10 consecutive workdays plus 10 weekly email pulse reminders over 10 weeks to reinforce behaviors, followed by a 2-month washout. Post-intervention survey reassessed OXYTOCIN, Trust, Purpose, and retention (N = 26; attrition due to restructuring). Analytical approach: paired t-tests, correlations, OLS regressions; ordered-logistic and log-log models. Ethical approval obtained; informed consent collected.

National sample: • All eight OXYTOCIN components correlated strongly with Trust (e.g., eXpectation r = 0.906; Transfer r = 0.892; Caring r = 0.890; Natural r = 0.880; ps < 0.0000). • Elasticities: a 10% increase in Trust associated with +1.57% productivity (vigor) and +4.50% productivity (self-report), +3.9% retention, +4.5% job satisfaction, +4.0% colleague closeness, +5.0% Joy, −4.7% chronic stress, −3.3% depersonalization, and +1.5% SWL. A 10% increase in Purpose associated with +2.38% productivity (vigor) and +2.72% (self-report), +3.9% retention, +2.6% job satisfaction, +1.7% closeness, +3.1% Joy, −0.10% chronic stress, −1.7% depersonalization, and +2.4% SWL. • Productivity: Trust correlated with vigor r = 0.55 (p = 0.000) and self-report r = 0.51 (p = 0.000). Purpose correlated with vigor r = 0.60 (p = 0.000) and self-report r = 0.50 (p = 0.000). • Retention intention: Trust r = 0.57 (p = 0.000); Purpose r = 0.56 (p = 0.000). • Income: Trust positively related to earnings (r ≈ 0.10, p = 0.0011). Highest Trust group reported average incomes 10.3% higher than middle Trust (p = 0.000) and 11.63% higher than lowest Trust (p = 0.000). • Job satisfaction and colleague closeness: Trust r = 0.59 (p = 0.000) and r = 0.40 (p = 0.000); Purpose r = 0.57 (p = 0.000) and r = 0.36 (p = 0.000). • Joy at work: Trust r = 0.78 (p = 0.000); Purpose r = 0.75 (p = 0.000); Trust × Purpose r = 0.80 (p = 0.000). • Well-being: Trust r = 0.36 (p = 0.000); Purpose r = 0.39 (p = 0.000). • Stress and depersonalization: Trust correlated negatively with chronic stress (r = −0.42, p = 0.000) and depersonalization (r = −0.37, p = 0.000); Purpose showed similar negative correlations (stress r = −0.32, p = 0.000; depersonalization r = −0.35, p = 0.000). • Nonprofit vs. for-profit: Purpose 10.2% higher in nonprofits (p = 0.001); job satisfaction 6.2% higher (p = 0.039); productivity 3.56% lower (p = 0.066); average earnings 8.6% lower (p = 0.089). • Multivariate regressions with controls confirmed positive associations of Trust and Purpose with productivity (vigor and self-report), retention, job satisfaction, closeness, Joy, SWL, and negative associations with stress and depersonalization (see Tables 2–4). Study 2 intervention: • Natural increased 15.6% post-intervention (p = 0.02, one-tailed); proportion rating Natural favorably rose from 62.7% to 80.7% (p = 0.041). • Favorable Trust ratings increased from 81.4% to 84.6% (p = 0.038); average Trust increased 5.9% (p = 0.075; likely underpowered). • Correlations strengthened: Natural–Trust r from 0.7974 to 0.8846 (p = 0.000); retention correlated more strongly with Natural (r from 0.289 to 0.501) and Trust (r from 0.450 to 0.655) post-intervention (ps < 0.03). • Regression analyses: Pre-intervention, Trust predicted retention; post-intervention, both Natural and Trust independently predicted greater retention (ps < 0.05). • Retention mean increased modestly (from 5.37 to 5.42), consistent with ~1% improvement cited in the abstract.

Findings across a large national sample indicate that cultures fostering Trust and aligning employees with organizational Purpose deliver substantial performance benefits: higher productivity and earnings, stronger retention intentions, more job satisfaction and joy at work, and improved well-being with lower chronic stress and depersonalization. These results support a gift-exchange interpretation in which Trust functions as a non-monetary “gift” that elicits discretionary effort, aligning employee and firm incentives. The oxytocin-based neuroscience provides a plausible mechanism: prosocial workplace behaviors increase trust and positive affect, making work itself more enjoyable and energizing. Purpose complements Trust by clarifying the “why” behind tasks, boosting motivation and reducing arousal. The intervention study provides preliminary causal evidence: deliberately increasing one trust behavior (Natural/authenticity) elevated Trust and strengthened its relationship to retention, yielding a measurable improvement in retention despite small samples. Together, the studies suggest managers can measure, target, and manage specific trust behaviors and purpose cues to improve multiple business outcomes.

Organizational Trust and Purpose are measurable, manageable facets of culture that jointly enhance business performance and employee well-being. Using the OXYTOCIN framework, the paper demonstrates robust cross-sectional associations and initial causal evidence that increasing trust-related behaviors improves retention. Contributions include: (1) operationalizing Trust via eight behaviors with high reliability; (2) demonstrating broad performance links (productivity, earnings, retention, satisfaction, joy, well-being, stress reduction); and (3) showing feasibility of microlearning interventions to shift behaviors. Future research should replicate interventions with larger, diverse samples; examine durability and long-term effects; test targeted changes in other OXYTOCIN factors; incorporate objective performance/health measures; and explore interaction effects between Trust and Purpose across industries and roles.

Study 1 relies on cross-sectional, self-reported data, limiting causal inference and introducing potential common method bias (e.g., self-reported productivity skew with median 95 mitigated by using vigor). Though controls are included, unobserved confounds may remain. Study 2 has substantial sample attrition (N reduced from 59 to 26), limited measures due to time constraints, and possible selection effects, reducing power and generalizability; average Trust change did not reach conventional significance. The intervention targeted a single OXYTOCIN factor and outcomes were short-term; objective performance metrics were not available. Sectoral comparisons (nonprofit vs. for-profit) are observational and may reflect differing mission and resource structures.