Employee involvement, organizational change and trust in management

Trust is an important concept in social science research as a key factor in organizational success and human resource practice. Few models of organizational change encompass the role of trust in the process of change. Further, little empirical research has focused on the potential effects of change strategies on employee trust in management. To address this gap, this paper explores the effect that different types of change strategies may have on employee trust in management. More specifically, it examines the effect of several types of major organizational change - technological, structural and work role - and types of employee involvement. Using data from the most recent Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, covering over 2,000 workplaces and over 19,000 employees, statistical analysis reveals significant negative effects of change on trust. However, the effects vary by type of change and employee involvement. Structural reorganization is particularly corrosive of trust in management. However, given the imperative of change for organizational success, the key question for management is: how can change be managed to minimize its corrosive effects? The analysis also indicates a central role for senior management in the process of change in Australian workplaces. In particular, the results for human resource management suggest an important role for direct consultation between employees and higher management (i.e. above the workplace level) in major change processes.