Trust me, I'm your boss: Trust and power in supervisor-supervisee communication

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Human Resource Management

Publication Date

2-1-2003

Abstract

This study examined employees' perceptions of trust, power and mentoring in manager-employee relationships in a variety of sectors, including health care, education, hospitality and retail. The main theoretical frameworks used were communication accommodation theory and social identity theory, in examining the manager-employee relationships from an in-group/out-group perspective. Computer-aided content analyses revealed a number of emergent communication and relationship themes that impact upon the level of in-groupness' and therefore trust in supervisor-supervisee relationships. While it may be illusory to believe that any organization can enjoy complete trust among its workforce, it is clear that certain communication characteristics can result in greater trust in manager-employee relationships, even within the context of organizational constrains. It is argued that the results of the study could be used to inform human resource management academics of key aspects of managerial communication that should be further researched, and also provide insights into the main communication skills that managers should focus upon to improve trust in the workplace.

ISSN

0958-5192

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Volume

14

Issue

1

First Page

117

Last Page

127

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Communication, Power, Trust, Workplace

Scopus ID

0345149406

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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