Uneasy Lies the Head that Bears the Trust: The Effects of Feeling Trusted on Emotional Exhaustion

The construct of feeling trusted reflects the perception that another party is willing to accept vulnerability to one's actions. Although this construct has received far less attention than trusting, the consensus is that believing their supervisors trust them has benefits for employees' j...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Academy of Management journal 2015-12, Vol.58 (6), p.1637-1657
Main Authors: Baer, Michael D., Dhensa-Kahlon, Rashpal K., Colquitt, Jason A., Rodell, Jessica B., Outlaw, Ryan, Long, David M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Employee attitude
Employees
Job performance
Public transport
Public transportation
Responsibilities
Studies
Trust
United Kingdom
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The construct of feeling trusted reflects the perception that another party is willing to accept vulnerability to one's actions. Although this construct has received far less attention than trusting, the consensus is that believing their supervisors trust them has benefits for employees' job performance. Our study challenges that consensus by arguing that feeling trusted can be exhausting for employees. Drawing on Stevan Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory, we develop a model in which feeling trusted fills an employee with pride -- a benefit for exhaustion and performance -- while also increasing perceived workload and concerns about reputation maintenance -- burdens for exhaustion and performance. We test our model in a field study using a sample of public transit bus drivers in London, England. Our results suggest that feeling trusted is a double-edged sword for job performance, bringing with it both benefits and burdens. Given that recommendations for managers generally encourage placing trust in employees, these results have important practical implications.
ISSN:0001-4273
1948-0989
DOI:10.5465/amj.2014.0246