WORKPLACE PERFORMANCE: THE ROLES OF EMPLOYEE TRUST, THRIVING,

GENDER AND EMPLOYEE STATUS

by

James Floyd

DR. LIZ KOMAN, Degree, Faculty Mentor and Chair

DR. WAYLAND SECREST, Degree, Committee Member

DR. RICKY FENWICK, Degree, Committee Member

Joshua L. Stanley, EdD, Dean

School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Capella University

Month Year [of final school approval]

James Floyd, 2021
 Abstract

Industrial Organizational (I/O) psychology (I/O) is a discipline interested in how the

relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business

(Cole, 2018). This includes studying worker satisfaction, motivation, and commitment. This

field also studies management, leadership, and organizational culture, as well as how an

organization’s structures, management and leadership styles, social norms, and role

expectations affect individual behavior (Jones, 2014). This proposed research will take a close

look at the relationships between employee trust and workplace behavior as supported by

Member Exchange Theory (LMX) which focuses on the relationship between managers and

workers. It further describes how they should interact with each other to reach a successful

workplace environment. This topic will allow for the study of a work culture which is the

defining foundation of an I/O psychologist. According to statista.com (2018), there are roughly

14.66 million Americans employed in the manufacturing sector. That’s 8.8% of total US

employment. The study used a small sample of 125 full/part time manufacturing employees

over the age of 18 to compete this research. This research included entry level managers and

employees and exclude those under 18 years of age. This research sampled entry level

employees (0-2 years) and also experienced employees (2 or more years of experience). A

literature review was conducted to examine how trust affects the climate and culture of an

organization.
 Dedication

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that gave me the vision, dedication and

determination to persevere and complete this great achievement. Thank you for walking

with me every step of the way through this challenging journey. I could never have

achieved this without you.

To my amazing and wonderful mother Ella Crutcher who has always been my biggest

cheerleader. From the day I was born to this one, you have always encouraged me to be

better than I ever thought I could be. I thank you for never allowing me to come home

from school without a book in my hand. You were there at every basketball game, PTA

meeting, parent/teacher conference and numerous other childhood events that molded me

into the man that I am today. Words can’t express the appreciation that I have for you

This achievement is a result of your prayers, life lessons, and never giving up on my

potential. May God Bless you always!!

To the loving memory of my father James Floyd who passed this life September 12,

2020. I truly wish that you were here to see your son complete his dissertation and be

hooded as a Doctor in the discipline of I/O Psychology. I truly hate that we weren’t able

to spend much time together in this life but know that you were always with me in my

mind and heart. I thank you for the time that we did share and the memories that I will

forever carry. I will do my best to carry on the Floyd name.

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 Acknowledgments

A project of this nature requires a great deal of assistance from others. It is important to

acknowledge those that have helped through the trials and tribulations of such a great project. I

cannot easily measure the contributions of my mentor Dr, Elizabeth Koman. Her dedication and

tremendous patience in helping me make this project successful will be forever appreciated. I

also appreciate all of the professors at Capella University that either assisted me during

residencies or the virtual classrooms. There is no way that I can thank all of them individual but

there is one professor that I believe deserves special recognition. Dr. Trunk was the professor at

my third residency in Orlando and I truly thank him for pushing me and taking time for extra

explanations with various statistical methods. His assistance made all of the difference with my

dissertation.

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 Table of Contents

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Acknowledgments..................................................................................................iv

List of Tables........................................................................................................viii

List of Figures.........................................................................................................ix

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1

Background of the Problem.....................................................................................1

Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................3

Purpose of the Study................................................................................................4

Significance of the Study.........................................................................................5

Research Questions..................................................................................................6

Definition of Terms..................................................................................................6

Research Design.......................................................................................................8

Assumptions and Limitations..................................................................................9

Assumptions.....................................................................................................9

Limitations......................................................................................................10

Organization of the Remainder of the Study.........................................................10

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................11

Methods of Searching............................................................................................11

Theoretical Orientation for the Study....................................................................12

Review of the Literature........................................................................................17

Findings..................................................................................................................38

Critique of Previous Research Methods................................................................41

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 Summary................................................................................................................47

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................49

Purpose of the Study..............................................................................................49

Research Questions and Hypotheses.....................................................................49

Research Design.....................................................................................................49

Target Population and Sample...............................................................................49

Population.......................................................................................................49

Sample............................................................................................................49

Power Analysis...............................................................................................49

Procedures..............................................................................................................49

Participant Selection.......................................................................................49

Protection of Participants................................................................................49

Data Collection...............................................................................................50

Data Analysis..................................................................................................50

Instruments.............................................................................................................50

[Name of Instrument].....................................................................................50

Ethical Considerations...........................................................................................50

Summary................................................................................................................50

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS...................................................................................................51

Background............................................................................................................51

Description of the Sample......................................................................................51

Hypothesis Testing.................................................................................................51

Summary................................................................................................................51

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CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS....................52

Summary of the Results.........................................................................................52

Discussion of the Results.......................................................................................52

Conclusions Based on the Results.........................................................................52

Limitations.............................................................................................................52

Implications for Practice........................................................................................52

Recommendations for Further Research................................................................52

Conclusion.............................................................................................................52

REFERENCES..................................................................................................................53

APPENDIX A. TITLE.......................................................................................................54

APPENDIX B. TITLE.......................................................................................................55

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 List of Tables

Table 1. .............................................................................................................................26

Table 2. Title ....................................................................................................................xx

Leave one full space between entries.

viii
 List of Figures

Figure 1. Four statements of thriving.................................................................................26

Figure 2. Look of confidence ............................................................................................28

Figure 3 Helping Employees to Thrive……………………………………………………29

Figure 4 Employee Trust and Workplace behavior……………………………………….35

Figure 5 Role of Employee Trust………………………………………………………….37

Leave one full space between entries. Do not remove the section break that follows this
paragraph

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 Chapter 1. Introduction

The proposed study will investigate the relationship between employee trust in management,

employee thriving and employee work performance in the manufacturing sector. The study will

further shed light on other areas that are affected when there’s a lack of trust in the work culture.

Areas such as company turnover, productivity, profit margins and attendance are affected when

trust is not present (Sinclair, 2013). Employees become more engaged and productive when they

have trust in their employers (Nelson & Carol, 2016). Lack of employee engagement in the

workplace is a challenge that plagues countless businesses. Chapter 1 provides (a) the

background of the problem, (b) a statement of the problem, (c) the purpose of the study, (d) the

significance of the study, (e) the research questions, (f) definition of terms, (g) the research

design, (h) assumptions and limitations, and (i) the organization of the remainder of the study.

Background of the Problem

There is a great deal that is known about the importance between employee trust and

workplace performance. The problem stems from companies not investing resources into

studying how to implement new directions that will lead to greater cohesiveness in the working

culture (Macy&Schneider, 2008). Companies and organizations often refuse to open up channels

of communication that will ultimately lead to new and more innovative ideas, that will benefit

the working environment of the company and plant seeds for a new employee mentality.

Issues that impact employee performance are nothing new. Knowing what causes these problems

is the first step to resolving them. According to a recent poll, 45% of people say lack of trust in

10
leadership is the biggest issue impacting their work performance (Savolainen, 2015). If a

company wants their business to be successful, it’s a number that must be addressed (Savolainen,

2015). Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, both personal and professional, and

when it’s broken, it is extremely hard to repair. When employees feel that they can not trust

leadership, they feel unsafe and then spend more energy on self -preservation and job hunting

than performing at their job. This causes talent acquisition costs and employee turnover costs to

increase, with estimates put at between 150%-200% of the employee salary (Kearney, 1994).

The understanding that we believe what we see more than what we hear supports a

behavioral point of view. According to a lecture given by John Watson in 1913 at Columbia

University, the school of behaviorism teaches us that in order to gain insight to behavioral

patterns, we must study behavioral events. In this case concerning management and employees,

it is imperative to consistently study the daily behaviors of employees in order to gain a better

understanding of the work environment. These studies should include interviews, questionnaires,

and observation of work habits. As stated above, this should be done on either a monthly,

quarterly, or semiannual basis. The results of this study should allow the company to gain an

understanding of the attitudes of management and their workforce. This in turn will open doors

that will lead to greater trust and understanding (Grossman, 2019).

The theory that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning,

without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by

altering behavior patterns is known as behaviorism.(Helle, 2011). According to this definition, if

we observe behavior over a period of time, then it will be easier to alter behavior patterns. When

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there is distrust in the work environment, the best solution is to observe the relationships in order

to change the distrusting behavior.

Lack of trust in leadership is a red flag that a business may have a “toxic” culture.

Employees will do the job requested of them but without trust in leadership, they’re not likely to

go above and beyond to help create a high-performance organization. A business can experience

poor customer service satisfaction and declining repeat business and brand loyalty which leads to

declining profits (Waters, 2013).

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 Statement of the Problem

The topic addressed in this study is trust in organizational leadership and its relationship

with employee overall performance. We know from Atkins (2016) that there are different

concepts of trust that employers can employ in determining the best course of action for creating

a trust relationship with their employees. We also know that research suggests that forming a

trusting relationship between leaders and employees of an organization is critical to maintaining

production and profit goals as well as a healthy work culture (Eileen, 2014). Organizational

psychology should continue to question whether organizations could survive with low trust in

leadership from employees. More importantly should be the question of whether organizations

can be their most successful if there is little trust from employees (Eileen, 2014). In addition,

studies show that while the majority of employees are satisfied in their work environment, only a

small percentage of employees actually engage with their organizations to the extent that

employees will do more than what is required to make the organization successful (Serrano&

Richard, 2011; Thriving and Sustainable, 2012). Organizations that focus on trust and workplace

performance helps bridge this gap and maximize workplace contributions (Carmeli & Spreitzer,

2009; Spreitzer & Porath, 2012). Organizations who do not promote thriving lack the joint sense

of learning and vitality that creates active and resistant employees who perform better and serve

as organizational citizens (Carmeli & Spreitzer, 2009; Porath et al., 2012). The specific problem

is while many researchers note the value of supervisor trust and workplace performance, none

have determined how the quality of these relationships relate to thriving (Allen & Poteet, 2011;

Gregory & Levy, 2010a; McComb, 2007). This study will be designed to examine employee trust

and workplace performance. Although there has been extensive research on leadership

effectiveness and employee satisfaction with leaders employed in the organization (McComb,

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2007), there is very little evidence that managers understand the importance of maintaining an

open and trusting environment in the workplace (Mangles, 2015).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is to conceptually analyze the relationship between

employee trust and workplace performance. The ability of status, gender, trust, and thriving to

predict performance will be examined. In addition, the results of employee surveys will be used

by the researcher to examine the relationship between the Independent and the dependent

variables.

During a review of the literature on supervisor-employee relationships the researcher

found limited data on how supervisor-employee trust and the perceived quality of supervisor-

employee relationships effect employee contributions. A quantitative correlational design will be

used to examine the relationship between supervisor-employee trust, gender, the perceived

quality of thriving status and the employee’s measured level of workplace performance.

The objective of this study is to explain the extent to which the variables of supervisor-

employee trust and the perceived quality of thriving will predict workplace performance.

Knowledge gained from this study will help place supervisor-employee trust and supervisor-

employee relationships into context and address varying empirical evidence regarding the

efficacy of supervisor-employee relationships. This study does not seek to infer causality but

instead the amount of variability explained by the relationship between 4 variables. (Kim, 2011)

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 Significance of the Study

The overview of more determinants the results of this research can be useful for

organizations/companies and their leaders, managing teams, and daily involvement with

employees. Knowledge about influential determinants on employee trust could help supervisors

and leaders to be aware of why it is important for employees to build high quality trust

relationships that will in turn create a more positive environment.

Research in one study gives benefits so that supervisors can prioritize and analyze which

determinants employees in their team may find important for a trusting relationship.

The first implication of the findings will involve the importance of trust within working

relationships. Organizational leaders may find the research helpful, and they may use it to adjust

their leadership style. Developing and maintaining trust within an organization may be difficult,

and organizational leaders may use this research to find ways to enhance trust (Parylo, 2017).

Furthermore, the CEOs and decision-makers of organizations may also find this research

helpful. Such stakeholders may be motivated by these results to educate better the leaders of the

departments in their organizations. CEOs and decision-makers can use these finding to develop a

leadership training program for their existing and new leaders, to equip them better in developing

trust among their followers and to enhance job satisfaction and morale. An increase in job

satisfaction and morale may have significant positive effects on the turnover rates of the

organization, and it will assist the organization to retain the most valuable employees (Richards,

2017).

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 Research Questions

RQ 1: Do employee status, gender, employee trust, and employee thriving predict workplace

performance?

RQ 2: What is the unique ability of employee status, gender, employee trust, and employee

thriving to predict workplace performance?

RQ 3: What variable or combination of variables best predict workplace performance?

Definition of Terms

Trust. Trust is defined for the study as being willing to allow individuals to manage risk

or uncertainty in a situation with another individual related to behavioral expectations where

vulnerability is present (Jones & George, 1998; McAllister, 1995).

Leadership. Leadership has many definitions that usually contain (a) influencing other’s

willingness to perform tasks the leader wants to have performed, (b) relating to a set of

descriptors and relating to excellence, and (c) whoever occupies the role of the leader (de Haan,

2016). For the current study, leadership included managers and supervisors who were

hierarchically above the participants in the study.

Leader-member exchange theory (LMX) focuses on the relationship between managers

and workers and how they should interact with each other to reach a successful workplace

environment (Power, 2013).

Thriving employees are ones who have a joint sense of learning and a sense of vitality

(Carmeli & Spreitzer, 2009).

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 Industrial Organizational (I/O) psychology (I/O) is a discipline interested in how the

relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business (Cole,

2018). This includes studying worker satisfaction, motivation, and commitment. This field also

studies management, leadership, and organizational culture, as well as how an organization’s

structures, management and leadership styles, social norms, and role expectations affect

individual behavior (Jones, 2014).

Job satisfaction is defined as the extent to which an employee feels self-motivated,

content & satisfied with his/her job. Job satisfaction happens when an employee feels he or she is

having job stability, career growth and a comfortable work life balance. This implies that the

employee is having satisfaction at job as the work meets the expectations of the individual

(Jones, 2020).

Employee Performance refers to how your workers behave in the workplace and how

well they perform the job duties you've obligated to them. A company typically sets

performance targets for individual employees and the company as a whole in hopes that the

business offers good value to customers, minimizes waste and operates efficiently. For an

individual employee, performance may refer to work effectiveness, quality and efficiency at

the task level (Donohoe, 2019).

Employee Morale Employee morale is defined as the attitude, satisfaction and overall

outlook of employees during their association with an organization or a business. An employee

that is satisfied and motivated at workplace usually tend to have a higher morale than their

counterparts. Employee engagement and employee satisfaction play an important role for

employees to be happy in their workplace (Malik et al, 2019).

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 Research Design

This study will be administering a non-experimental quantitative design to gather

information from participants. Information will be gathered through the use of online surveys

and administered questionnaires. I will be using the aid of Qualtrics to collect the results

necessary to complete my research.

The sample will consist of current manufacturing workers that are currently employed

with one of the local manufacturing warehouses. The participants will be asked to complete the

research surveys and the resulting data will be collected by the researcher. Qualtrics will send a

link to access the research survey.

The study will examine employee scores on supervisor-employee trust, the quality the

employee workplace performance and the employees ‘level of thriving. Data will be obtained by

a self-reported questionnaire. One week after the initial invitation will be sent out, a reminder e-

mail will be sent to the participants offering another chance to complete the online questionnaire.

Submission of an informed consent form will give the participant permission to complete the

survey.

This study will adhere to a quantitative research philosophy that contributes to theory and

practice of Leader-Member Exchange Theory by examining supervisor-employee trust and

supervisor-employee work performance in order to determine whether or not supervisor-

employee trust effects work performance.

Assumptions and Limitations

Research based understanding is not as extensive as practitioners conceive it to be, which

was a principal reason for this particular investigation. It is important that researchers consider

18
assumptions and limitations in the research they perform. Assumptions are a vital part of any

type of research and must be justified and trusted or the research will be considered insignificant

(Leedy&Ormrod, 2010). Limitations are also important in each research area and that includes

sampling methods and the collection of data (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). In the following

sections, there will be descriptions of the assumptions of the study followed limitations.

Assumptions

There will be a number of assumptions made during the conducting of this research. The

first assumption will be that the participants of the study truthfully answer the survey questions.

It can be assumed that the participants are honest in their responses because the data will be

collected anonymously, and confidentiality will be maintained. The second assumption relates to

the use of the third-party collection agency. The underlying assumption of the research is that

Qualtrics will only send invitations to prospective participants located in the Southeastern

United States. It is further assumed that Qualtrics will restrict the sampling area to the Southeast

and not progress into other regions in order to obtain the required sample size because of the

extensive database that Qualtrics maintains. The concluding assumption covers the replies of the

participants. Among other things, the participants will be asked to rate experiences of trust with

coworkers and organizational communications. It is assumed that the sample size will provide

genuine responses, because more than the minimum sample number of participants were

utilized.

Limitations

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 Similarly, to any type of research, will occur occurred within this study. One limitation

originates from assuming there are no possibilities of unknown, moderating variables or any

confounding factor manipulating the analysis of the results. A second limitation will regard the

capability to ascertain the survey frame accurately. Using a third-party collection agency restricts

the researcher’s influence concerning the selection of participants. In this aspect, a design

limitation is created but in no way prevents the study from presenting accurate findings.

Organization of the Remainder of the Study

Chapter 1 incorporated details about the background of the problem, statement of the

problem, the purpose of the study, the significance of the study, the research questions, definition

of terms, the research design, assumptions, and limitations. . Chapter 2 presents methods of

searching, theoretical orientation for the study, a review of the literature, synthesis of the

research findings, and a critique of previous research methods. Chapter 3 provides the purpose of

the study, research questions and hypotheses, research design, target population and sample,

procedures, resources, instruments, and ethical considerations. Chapter 4 presents a description

of the sample and hypotheses testing. Chapter 5 includes a summary of the results, discussion of

the results, conclusions based on the results, limitations, implications for practice, and

recommendations for further research.

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