Authentic leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour in the public health care sector: The role of workplace trust

Abstract

Orientation: The orientation of this study was towards authentic leadership and its influence on workplace trust and organisational citizenship behaviour in the public health care sector.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of authentic leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour, through workplace trust among public health care employees in South Africa. The objective was to determine whether authentic leadership affects organisational citizenship behaviour through workplace trust (conceptualised as trust in the organisation, immediate supervisor and co-workers).Motivation for the study: Employees in the public health care industry are currently being faced with a demanding work environment which includes a lack of trust in leadership. This necessitated the need to determine whether authentic leadership ultimately leads to extra-role behaviours via workplace trust in its three referents.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used with employees the public health care sector in South Africa (N = 633). The Authentic Leadership Inventory, Workplace Trust Survey and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale were administered to these participants.Main findings: The results indicated that authentic leadership has a significant influence on trust in all three referents, namely the organisation, the supervisor and co-workers. Both trust in the organisation and trust in co-workers positively influenced organisational citizenship behaviour. Conversely, authentic leadership did not have a significant influence on organisational citizenship behaviour. Finally, authentic leadership had a significant indirect effect on organisational citizenship behaviour through trust in the organisation and trust in co-workers. Trust in the organisation was found to have the strongest indirect effect on the relationship between authentic leadership and organisational citizenship behaviour.Practical/managerial implications: The main findings suggest that public health care institutions would benefit if leaders are encouraged to be more authentic as this might result in increases in both trust among co-workers and in the organisation. Consequently, employees might be more likely to exert additional effort in their work.Contribution/value-add: Limited empirical evidence exists with regard to the relationship between authentic leadership, workplace trust in its three referents and organisational citizenship behaviour. This study aimed to contribute to the limited number of studies conducted.

Relationships among authentic leadership, manager incivility and trust in the manager

“…This finding has been reported in a few studies examining the influence of authentic leadership on trust in managers among experienced nurses . Additionally, in a sample of a variety of healthcare professionals that included nurses, authentic leadership was found to have a direct and positive relationhip with trust in the manager (Coxen et al,2016). Similarly, outside of the nursing discipline, transparent managers were found to have a higher rate of follower trust (Hughes,2005;Norman, 2006, Norman, Avolio, Luthans, 2010.…”

“…According to the Nursing Advisory Committee (2002) a sustainable and healthy work environment is created through strong, positive nursing leadership that facilitates an atmosphere of trust. Authentic leaders who genuinely share information with others and listen to followers are more likely to increase trust in the organization, supervisors and co-workers (Coxen, van der Vaart & Stander, 2016) and thus enhance higher work engagement . As role models, leaders who display trustworthiness behaviours such as integrity, support and competence are more apt to evoke trust in coworkers and the organization (Coxen et al, 2016;).…”

“…Authentic leaders who genuinely share information with others and listen to followers are more likely to increase trust in the organization, supervisors and co-workers (Coxen, van der Vaart & Stander, 2016) and thus enhance higher work engagement . As role models, leaders who display trustworthiness behaviours such as integrity, support and competence are more apt to evoke trust in coworkers and the organization (Coxen et al, 2016;). Laschinger and Finegan (2005) reported a significant association between nursing staff's trust in their managers and feeling respected and secure in healthcare settings.…”

“…Trust in the organization and co-worker were positive and significant predictors of organizational citizenship behaviour. Additionally, authentic leadership was found to have an indirect significant influence on organizational citizenship behaviour through trust in the organization and co-workers; surprisingly, authentic leadership did not significantly affect organizational citizenship behaviour through trust in the immediate supervisor Coxen et al, (2016). justified the reasons behind this result may be because managers do not perform shift work and do not work closely enough with professionals.…”

Reflections on a decade of authentic leadership research in health care

“…Hutchinson () raised concern about the recent deterioration of public trust in organisations and leaders and whether nurse leaders need to be concerned about their influence on the public's trust in nursing and in ensuring the reliable delivery of health care. Except for a few studies (Coxen, van der Vaart, & Stander, ; Wong & Giallonardo, ), there is still little systematic study of trust in health care settings and examination of how nursing leadership behaviours affect nurses' trust and work outcomes (Hutchinson, ; Wong & Cummings, ). Authentic leaders build trust with others through positive role modelling of honesty, integrity and ethical principles in the development of leader‐staff relationships.…”