Building Trust: Exploring How Workplace Demands and Resources Are Related to Organizational Trust Views of Staff at a Nigeria Prison

Organizational trust is an important concept, which has led to calls to increase the level of both supervisor and management trust. Research on how workplace variables are linked to supervisor and management trust is limited. The present study used the job demands–resources model to explore how job demands (role overload, fear of victimization, and routinization) and job resources (job autonomy, instrumental communication, and quality supervision) were related to supervisor and management trust. Using data from 120 Nigerian prison staff, communication and supervision were related to higher levels of supervisor trust, and all three job resources were related to higher management trust; the other variables had nonsignificant associations with both types of trust. An implication from a policy perspective is that prison administrators should implement interventions to raise job autonomy, instrumental communication, and quality supervision to enhance the level of supervisor and management trust among the staff.