Attributes of immediate supervisor in promoting trust with employees in a public sector organisation

Abstract

[Abstract]: In the web of human relationships, trust is one of the interconnecting links that sustains ongoing interactions between individuals. In a public sector organisation where the organisational structure is multi-layered, it is a sine qua non that immediate supervisors promote trust with employees. In this study, attributes of leaders with the closest proximity to employees are investigated. Eleven items from a previous survey and one from Lines, Selart, Espendal, and Johansen (2005) were included. Parallel analysis indicated that only one component should be extracted by principal component analysis. Internal consistency estimated by Cronbach alpha indicated that two of the items could be deleted. The removal of one other item as it qualitatively describes an interpersonal dynamic between the immediate supervisor and the employee rather than an attribute of the immediate supervisor did not reduce the alpha. The final scale comprised of nine attributes. Results from a posthoc discrimination analysis with “My supervisor and I trust each other” as the criterion item suggested that four attributes would contribute to promoting trust with employees. They were: “provides truthful and honest information”; “provides clear and constructive feedback”; “treats employees with care and respect”; and “asks for my opinion before making decisions that affect my work”.