Workplace Trust Survey (WTS)

Abstract

The Workplace Trust Survey (WTS) is a psychometrically robust instrument designed to measure an employee’s perceived level of trust across three critical targets within an organizational setting. Developed by Ferres, Connell, and Travaglione, the WTS provides a crucial diagnostic tool for researchers and practitioners in Organizational Behavior, assessing the health of relational dynamics at work. The scale distinguishes between trust directed toward the organization itself, trust in immediate co-workers, and trust in the direct supervisor or manager. This multi-dimensional approach allows for a nuanced understanding of how different sources of trust influence employee attitudes, performance outcomes, and overall organizational climate.

Keywords

Workplace Trust Survey, WTS, Organizational Trust, Co-worker Trust, Supervisor Trust, Manager-Subordinate Relationships, Organizational Behavior, Employee Attitudes, Psychological Scale, Trust Measurement.

Authors

N. Ferres, J. Connell, T. Travaglione, A. Travaglione

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Workplace Trust Survey (WTS) is to systematically measure and differentiate the levels of trust employees place in the three most significant entities in their professional environment: the organization as a whole, their peer group, and their direct supervisor. This differentiation is essential because research indicates that trust in one target (e.g., a supervisor) may operate independently of trust in another (e.g., the organization).

By providing three distinct factor scores, the WTS enables organizations to pinpoint specific areas requiring intervention. For instance, low scores on the supervisor subscale suggest a need for leadership training and accountability improvements, while low scores on the organization subscale might point toward systemic issues related to fairness, transparency, or strategic direction.

Construct

The WTS operationalizes trust as a multi-dimensional construct defined by an employee’s willingness to be vulnerable based upon positive expectations concerning the intentions and behaviors of others. The instrument is grounded in the belief that trust is not monolithic in the workplace but is directed toward specific referents, leading to distinct emotional and behavioral outcomes.

The three core dimensions measured by the WTS are:

• Trust in Organization: Measures the employee’s belief that the organization is moving in a positive direction, values employee input, acts fairly, provides a supportive environment, and recognizes skills and abilities.
• Trust in Co-workers: Assesses the belief that peers are reliable, supportive, considerate of one’s interests, truthful, and display ethical behavior.
• Trust in Immediate Manager/Supervisor: Focuses on the supervisor’s integrity, availability, confidentiality, and reliability in keeping promises and providing honest feedback.

Validity

The development and validation of the WTS were conducted using a methodology that combined qualitative insights and rigorous quantitative testing, ensuring high levels of validity. The initial development phase (Ferres, 2002) established a comprehensive item pool based on employee experiences, enhancing the scale’s content validity.

Subsequent validation studies (Connell, Ferres & Travaglione, 2003, 2004) confirmed the scale’s strong construct validity. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical premise that trust in the workplace is tripartite, meaning the three subscales—Trust in Organization, Trust in Co-workers, and Trust in Immediate Manager—are statistically distinct and measure separate underlying dimensions of trust.

Reliability

The WTS demonstrates high internal consistency, a key measure of reliability, across all three subscales. The rigorous psychometric procedures employed during validation ensure that the items within each dimension consistently measure the same aspect of workplace trust. High reliability estimates (typically expressed via Cronbach’s alpha) indicate that the WTS provides stable and dependable scores, making it a trustworthy measure for both research and organizational diagnosis.

Factor Analysis

Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses performed during the WTS validation process definitively established a three-factor solution. This factor structure aligns perfectly with the theoretical framework, separating the 35 items (total count across subscales) into the expected factors: Trust in Organization (11 items), Trust in Co-workers (12 items), and Trust in Immediate Manager/Supervisor (12 items). This strong factor loading confirms the discriminant validity among the three targets of trust, justifying the use of separate subscale scores rather than a single global trust score.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale

Format: 7-point Likert Scale, ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree.

Language Available: English (Primary validation language)

Population Group: Employees and professionals in organizational and corporate settings.

Age Group: Adult working population.

Population Details: Applicable across various industries and organizational levels, used to assess internal perceptions of trust.

Test Methodology: Typically administered as a survey, either paper-and-pencil or digitally.

Keywords

Organizational behavior, Employee engagement, Managerial psychology, Survey instrument, Likert Scale, Psychological instrument, Organizational commitment, Trust factors, Personnel Review.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Information not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Workplace Trust Survey was initially developed in 2002 (Master’s thesis) and formally validated and published in academic journals starting in 2003 and 2004. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale should consult the primary authors (Ferres, Connell, and Travaglione) regarding specific permissions and licensing fees, especially for commercial use.

The instrument and related research can be found at the following sources. The original PDF describing the instrument can be downloaded here: http://www.laisumedu.org/DESIN_Ibarra/apros/papers/029.pdf and here: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/02683940410551516.

Reference’s

• Ferres, N. (2002). Development of the workplace trust questionnaire. (Unpublished ma‎ster’s thesis), University of Newcastle, Callaghan.
• Connell, J., Ferres, N. & Travaglione, T. (2003). The Development and Validation of the Workplace Trust Survey (WTS): Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies. Paper to be Presented at APROS, Mexico 2003.
• Connell, J., Ferres, N. & Travaglione, T. (2003). Engendering trust in manager-subordinate relationships: Predictors and outcomes. Personnel Review, 32, pp. 569-587.
• Ferres, N., Connell, J., & Travaglione, A. (2004). Co-worker trust as a social catalyst for constructive employee attitudes. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(6), 608- 622.

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Items of the Workplace Trust Survey (WTS)

Organization

1. There is a widely held belief that X is moving forward for the better
2. I have positive feelings about the future direction of X
3. I honestly express my opinion at X with the knowledge that employee views are valued
4. I think that X offers a supportive environment
5. I believe that X recognizes and rewards employees’ skills and abilities
6. It is generally accepted that X takes care of employee interests
7. I perform knowing that X will recognize my work
8. I think that processes within X are fair
9. Employees commonly believe that they are treated fairly at X
10. I act on the basis that X follows plans with action
11. I feel that information can be shared openly within X.

Co-Worker

1. I feel I can trust my co-workers to do their jobs well.
2. I proceed with the knowledge that my co-workers are considerate of my interests.
3. I believe that my co-workers will support me if I have problems.
4. Most employees at this organization believe that co-workers are reliable.
5. I feel confident that my co-workers appreciate my good work.
6. I feel that my co-workers are truthful in their dealings with me.
7. I think that my co-workers act reliably from one moment to the next.
8. I will act on the foundation that my co-workers display ethical behavior.
9. Most employees at this organization believe that co-workers will be supportive if problems arise.
10. I believe that my co-workers give me all the information to assist me at work.
11. Employees at this organization generally feel that co-workers appreciate their good work.
12. I behave on the basis that my co-workers will not disclose personal information.

Supervisor

1. I feel that my supervisor listens to what I have to say.
2. I proceed on the basis that my supervisor will act in good faith.
3. I act on the basis that my supervisor displays integrity in his/her actions.
4. I think that my supervisor appreciates additional efforts I make.
5. I act knowing that my supervisor will keep his/her word.
6. I believe that my supervisor follows through promises with action.
7. I feel that my supervisor is available when needed.
8. I believe that my supervisor keeps personal discussions confidential.
9. I feel that my supervisor trusts his/her employees to work without excessive supervision.
10. Employees generally believe that management provides honest answers.*
11. It is frequently acknowledged by employees of this organization that their immediate supervisors reward those who perform well.*
12. Most people at this organization feel comfortable with their immediate supervisors.*