In the Eyes of the Beholder: The Relationship Between Subordinates' Felt Trustworthiness and their Work Attitudes and Behaviors

This study extends the literature on trust and leadership by examining trust from a new perspective. Specifically, we investigate how subordinates' perceptions of their leaders' trust in them, which we label subordinates' felt trustworthiness, influence their performance, organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction. Results demonstrated a positive relationship between felt trustworthiness and these dependent measures. Furthermore, felt trustworthiness was a more significant predictor of these outcomes than the subordinates' perceptions of their leaders' trustworthiness. Implications of these_findings are discussed.