The Relationship of Affective Organizational Commitment with Supervisory Trust

Research and anecdotal evidence suggest employee levels of organizational commitment have declined in public and private sectors. The important role of commitment in government recruitment and retention reinforces the need to maintain employee commitment. The literature is conflicted regarding the extent to which trust in supervisors can facilitate commitment. One public and one private organization were studied. Although trust and commitment were not closely related in a direct statistical sense, trust in supervisors has an important role to play in promoting organizational commitment. Employee attitudes toward layoffs and reorganizations were highly predictive of organizational commitment. Credibility, decision participation, empowerment, and feedback were significant predictors of supervisor trust. A trusted supervisor can provide meaningful interpretations of organizational intent and reassurance that the desirable value structure of the organization will be sustained.