Modeling the factors determining transformation of mental trust into trusting behavior (the case of monitoring studies of the adult population in the Tyumen Region in 2007-2017)

One of the main practical questions, which the researchers of trust deal with, is the definition of its “value”, or effects. This is especially true in the sphere of economic and organizational relations. Confidence is a factor contributing to the growth of wealth and competitiveness, saving transaction costs. The role of trust in the relations between the employer and the employee is important as a necessary condition for organizational innovation. Deepening further into the problem of building trust between the employee and the employer, the authors dwell into the differences of trust as a mental state and as a trusting action, which, according to Bart Nooteboom, is one of the sources of confusion in the corresponding studies. Based on the results of several waves of sociological research (2004-2017), this article shows how Russia undergoes a transformation of trust as a state of mind in the employee—employer relationship and how this affects their actions. Using the methods of correlation and variance analysis, the authors show the relationship between the interrelation between the experience of labor rights violation, protection from job loss, satisfaction with guarantied stability and permanent employment provided by the employer, and the level of trust in them. Studying the influence, which the level of trust as a mental state has on the employees’ behavior, has showed that the high level of trust in the employer serves as an incentive to continued labor relations, though does not guarantee it. Among the 18% of the workers interviewed, who demonstrated a high level of trust in their employer, noted at the same time their desire to change jobs. Likewise, distrust of the employer does not always lead to resignation. Among the employees who do not trust their employer, 38% expressed their readiness to continue their employment relations. The authors draw attention to some characteristics of workers who set the choice of this or that strategy of action with the same level of trust. Proceeding from this, the effect brought by trust will depend not only and not so much on the mental level of trust, but on how this trust transforms into actions and, most importantly, in what actions.