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The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
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Volitional Trust, Autonomy Satisfaction, and Engagement at Work.
Marita Heyns1, Sebastiaan Rothmann1
1North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.
Psychological Reports
|July 7, 2017
Summary
Leaders can foster employee engagement by building trust, particularly through open communication. Trust enhances autonomy, which in turn drives higher personal engagement at work.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Workplace Behavior
- Employee Engagement
Background:
- Employee engagement is crucial for organizational success.
- Trust and autonomy are recognized as key drivers of engagement.
- The specific mechanisms linking trust, autonomy, and engagement require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test a structural model examining the relationships between trust, autonomy satisfaction, and personal engagement.
- To investigate the mediating role of autonomy satisfaction in the trust-engagement link.
- To identify which dimensions of trust (reliance vs. disclosure) influence engagement.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample (N=252).
- Utilized validated scales: Behavioral Trust Inventory, Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, and Work Engagement Scale.
- Employed mediation analyses to test the proposed structural model.
Main Results:
- Disclosure-based trust in a leader significantly predicted autonomy satisfaction and employee engagement.
- Reliance-based trust did not significantly influence engagement.
- Autonomy satisfaction mediated the relationship between disclosure-based trust and engagement, explaining a substantial portion of the variance.
Conclusions:
- Fostering trust, especially through open communication (disclosure), is vital for enhancing employee engagement.
- Leaders can improve engagement by supporting autonomy needs, which are positively influenced by trust.
- The findings offer practical insights for leaders aiming to boost engagement through trust-building strategies.
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