The role of trust in job satisfaction and work engagement among bank employees

Abstract

For many years, the banking industry has been regarded as the embodiment of trust in its relations with customers and employees. However, in recent years, the picture of a responsible custodian of customers‟ money has been eroded by events which were caused by the 2008 financial crisis. The aftermath of the financial crisis has forced banking regulators and the wider society as a whole to focus on unethical banking practices and unsustainable behaviour from banking institutions. These challenges have forced organisations to change their business models, re-engineer their organisational structures and find innovative ways to create and embed a trusting relationship with their employees. Operating a sustainable and profitable banking institution in this day and age is a costly affair, because banks are confronted with high regulatory compliance costs and ever-increasing staff costs. It is therefore in the bank‟s interest to ensure that there is a trusting relationship between the employees, the supervisor, and the organisation. When employees trust their organisation and their supervisor, they are more likely to stay at the organisation for longer and be satisfied with their jobs. Employees, in turn, will reciprocate by ensuring that the organisation‟s strategic objectives are achieved. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of trust on the work engagement and job satisfaction of employees in a South African bank. A cross-sectional design was utilised to collect data and the participating banking employees was selected through convenience sampling (n = 214). The measuring instruments utilised were the Workplace Trust Survey, Job Satisfaction Scale, and the Work Engagement Scale. The results indicate that job satisfaction was significantly influenced by trust (trust – in organisation and supervisor). The physical engagement of employees was significantly influenced by work trust in the organisation, while the emotional engagement of employees was significantly influenced by work trust in the supervisor. Lastly, it was also found that job satisfaction caused an indirect effect on the relationship from work trust (organisation and supervisor) to work engagement