Orientation: Research concerning trust relationships on the interpersonal level, particularly when studied in dyadic relationships from the follower’s point of view, is relatively scarce. Only a few researchers have attempted to link multiple dimensions of trust in the same study.Research purpose: This study examined the dynamic interplay between trust propensity, trustworthiness beliefs and the decision to trust, as perceived within dyadic workplace relationships. Motivation for the study: No studies, as far as the authors are aware, have ever attempted to use a combination of Mayer and Davis’s well-known assessment of trustworthiness and Gillespie’s measure of behavioural trust within the same study. By including measures of main antecedents and the actual decision to trust in the same study, the multidimensionality of trust can be established more concretely.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample (N = 539) was used. The Behavioural Trust Inventory and the Organisational Trust Instrument were administered.Main findings: Results confirmed the distinctness of propensity, trustworthiness and trust as separate main constructs. Trust was strongly associated with trustworthiness beliefs. Trustworthiness beliefs fully mediated the relationship between propensity and trust. The observed relations between propensity and trustworthiness suggest that individuals with a natural predisposition to trust others will be more inclined to perceive a specific trust referent as trustworthy.Practical/managerial implications: Leaders should realise that their attitudes and behaviour have a decisive impact on trust formation processes: if they are being perceived as trustworthy, followers will be likely to respond by engaging in trusting behaviours towards them. Tools to assess followers’ perceptions of the trustworthiness of the leader may provide useful feedback that can guide leaders.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the influence of propensity to trust and trustworthiness on trust of leaders.

This study tested a structural model that identifies the nature of relationships between trust, autonomy satisfaction, and personal engagement at work. A cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample ( n = 252) was used. The Behavioral Trust Inventory, Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, and Work Engagement Scale were administered. While reliance-based trust did not have a significant influence on engagement, disclosure-based trust in a focal leader was found to predict satisfaction of autonomy needs and employee engagement. Mediation analyses revealed that satisfaction of the need for autonomy facilitates the influence of trust on work outcomes. More specifically, disclosure (a dimension of trust) impacted engagement via autonomy satisfaction. Overall, the model explained 44% of total variance in engagement, to which the variables proportionately contributed as follows: autonomy satisfaction = 79.58%, disclosure = 18.22%, and reliance = 2.20%. The findings provide possible directions for how leaders can leverage trust to facilitate autonomy support and higher levels of engagement.

Orientation: Despite increasing age diversity in the workforce, organisations still know relatively little about how potentially diverging motivational needs of the various generations might influence motivational strategies and organisational performance.Research purpose: To explore the relationship between multigenerational workforces and employee motivation within a South African workplace setting from a self-determination theory perspective.Motivation for the study: The pursuit of performance excellence requires an understanding of the enablers of optimal performance. In South Africa, the workplace landscape is changing fast as younger generations are joining the workforce in rapidly growing numbers. These younger employees are often believed to differ quite drastically from the older generations in terms of their values and priorities, which necessitates a deeper understanding of the motivational drivers of the different cohorts as these manifest within a workplace environment.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey approach and a quantitative research design were used (N = 164). Two questionnaires founded on self-determination theory were administered, namely the Work-Related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale and the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale.Main findings: Findings contradict the popular notion that generational cohorts differ significantly from each other in terms of diverging intrinsic and extrinsic motivational preferences that may influence their behaviour at work. With regard to the degrees of satisfaction of the basic psychological needs that drive autonomous, intrinsically motivated behaviour specifically, no practically significant differences were found either. There was, however, one notable difference, namely in the indicated degree of satisfaction of the psychological need for autonomy between Generation Y and Generation X cohorts.Practical/managerial implications: Management is advised to cultivate a motivational climate that promotes autonomously motivated behaviour in general and to focus on specific known individual motivational preferences that may exist within groups rather than approaching generational cohorts as homogenous groups.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited research regarding similarities and differences in the intrinsic versus extrinsic motivational stance of three different generations as these manifest within a workplace setting in an emerging economy country. Findings afford management insight into motivational processes that are most influential among generational cohorts and assist them in adapting suitable motivational strategies that can ultimately improve retention of valued employees.

Background: Work engagement can be defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterised by Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. There is a general belief that there is a connection between work engagement and business results, as well as total quality. Practitioners and academics have over the years agreed that the consequences of work engagement are positive. Total quality management is an essential practice that can be used to improve the quality of products on a systematic basis to meet customer satisfaction. It is important for an organisation to have engaged employees as it is evident that such an organisation is likely to prosper and attain total quality management (TQM). Aim:The main objective of the study was to determine the effect of work engagement on total quality management practices in a petrochemical organisation. Setting:The study was carried out in the petrochemical industry, which is of economic significance to the country. The degree of work engagement is essential for sustainable performance in this industry.Methods: Two questionnaires were used for the study, namely the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and TQM. A total of 166 of responses were received from employees working for a petrochemical organisation.Results: Overall, the results showed that work engagement had a positive relationship with the dimensions of TQM, which was used as a measure of quality, which is a non-financial measure of performance. Conclusion:Managers need to enable an organisation to attract, develop and retain highly engaged employees to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage.