Beyond reciprocity: The role of empowerment in understanding felt trust

To date, social exchange theory has been the central framework for explaining the positive benefits of trusting relationships at work. We examine whether psychological empowerment theory may further explain the relation between subordinates' felt trust and work attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction, work engagement, and turnover intentions) – as well as the relation between subordinates' felt trust and well-being – beyond the variance solely explained by a social exchange process (i.e., reciprocal trust between a subordinate and their supervisor). We tested our hypotheses in two studies across two distinct employee samples: employees from a large multinational organization and an online cross-section of employees spanning multiple industries. Both studies provided consistent support for our central propositions. Specifically, we found that both subordinates' empowerment (i.e., meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact) and their trust in their supervisors each uniquely mediated the relation between subordinates' felt trust and their work attitudes and well-being. Our research findings extend our theoretical understanding of felt trust and highlight the practical importance of building trust in the workplace.