The Moderating Role of Trust in Supervisor in the Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance of Federal Public Service Organizations in Ethiopia

Abstract

The effect of Employee Engagement on Organizational Performance and the nature of Engagement-Performance linkage is new area of research in public service organizations of Ethiopia. Drawing on SET, the present study investigated the impact of Engagement on Performance of Public Service Organizations. The study also examined the moderating effect of Trust in Supervisor on the connection between Engagement-Performance. The study employed descriptive research design using cross-sectional data of 340 employees from nine federal public service organizations. The theorized three-factor model was validated through SEM. The legitimacy and reliability of the measurement and structural model was ensured using CFA. The finding of the study revealed that engagement has direct and significant effect on organizational performance. It was also found that Trust in Supervisor has significant effect on organizational performance. However, contrary to our expectation, the SEM analysis result demonstrated that Trust in Supervisor has no moderation effect on the relationship between Engagement and Performance, indicating that Trust in Supervisor has its own independent effect on performance of public service organizations. The result of the study adds to the current writing by incorporating the factors that help to improve performance. The study suggested that much investment should be made on the HR to build an engaged workforce to enhance performance.

Keywords: Organizational Performance, Employee Engagement, Trust in Supervisor, Public Service, Federal employees.