The Foundation of ‘Partnership’? Union Effects on Employee Trust in Management

Abstract

This article addresses the question: what impact do trade unions have on employee trust in management? Using nationally representative data on employees in the British Social Attitudes Survey (BSAS) 1998, we assess associations between measures of unionisation and employee perceptions that managers usually keep their promises to employees. The article provides broad support for the three hypotheses explored here. First, employee trust in managers is higher where there is a balance of power between unions and management at the workplace. Secondly, employees’ trust in managers is higher where management supports union membership, and is lowest where management actively discourages membership. This is equally true among employees in unionised and non-unionised workplaces. Thirdly, employees’ perceptions of union effectiveness are positively associated with higher trust in management.

The positive association between managerial support for union membership and employee trust in management can be interpreted in various ways. But the finding suggests that management can influence employee perceptions of them for better or for worse through their engagement with unions.

Management can also foster a high trust relationship with employees by ensuring that unions have sufficient power to make a positive contribution to the running of the workplace, since unions with the ‘right amount of power’ are associated with higher trust in management. Weak unions are particularly bad for employee perceptions of management, raising the question why employers often recognise unions for pay bargaining, but preside over a decline in union strength at the workplace.

Unions are best able to create a climate in which employees trust management where they are perceived to be doing their job well, where they have regard to union members’ problems and complaints, and where they contribute to the smooth running of the workplace. In these circumstances, trust in management is generally no different from that found among employees in non-unionised workplaces. However, where unions are viewed as ineffective, trust in management is lower than in comparable non-unionised workplaces.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Addison, J.T. and Belfield, C. (2000), ‘The impact of financial participation and employee involvement on financial performance: a re-estimation using the 1998 WERS’, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 47, 5, pp. 571-583.

Bryson, A. (1999), ‘Are unions good for industrial relations?’, in Jowell, R. , Curtice, J. , Park, A. and Thomson, K. (eds), British Social Attitudes: the 16th Report - Who shares New Labour values?, Aldershot, Ashgate.

Bryson, A. (2000), ‘Have British workers lost their voice, or have they gained a new one? An analysis of matched employer-employee data’, London, Policy Studies Institute Discussion Paper No. 2.

Bryson, A. (2001a), ‘Employee voice, workplace closure and employment growth: a panel analysis’, London, Policy Studies Institute Discussion Paper No. 6.

Bryson, A. (2001b), The Impact of Unions on Workplace Governance, 1983- 1998, London, Policy Studies Institute, forthcoming.

Bryson, A. and McKay, S. (1997), ‘What about the workers?’, in Jowell, R. , Curtice, J. , Park, A. and Thomson, K. (eds), British Social Attitudes: the 14th Report, Aldershot, Ashgate.

Bryson, A. and Wilkinson, D. (2001), ‘Collective bargaining and workplace performance: an investigation using the Workplace Employee Relations Survey 1998’, Department of Trade and Industry Research Paper (forthcoming).

Confederation of British Industry (1998), Human Resources Report No. 16, London, Confederation of British Industry.

Cully, M. , Woodland, S. , O’Reilley, A. , Dix, G. (1999), Britain at Work: as depicted by the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, London, Routledge.

10.

Dasmalchian, A. , Blyton, P. and Adamson, R. (1989), ‘Industrial relations climate: testing a construct’, Journal of Occupational Psychology, 62, pp. 21-32.

11.

Deery, S.J. , Erwin, P.J. and Iverson, R.D. (1995), ‘Union management, co-operation, dual allegiance and organisational performance’, Department of Management and Industrial Relations, University of Melbourne, Working Paper No. 89.

12.

Deery, S.J. , Erwin, P.J. and Iverson, R.D. (1999), ‘Industrial relations climate, attendance behaviour and the role of trade unions’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 37, 4, pp. 533-558.

13.

Deery, S. and Walsh, J. (1999), ‘The decline of collectivism? A comparative study of white-collar employees in Britain and Australia’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 37, 2, pp. 245-269.

14.

Department of Trade and Industry (1998), Fairness at Work, Cmd 3968.

15.

Fernie, S. and Metcalf, D. (1995), ‘Participation, contingent pay, representation and workplace performance: Evidence from Great Britain’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 33, 3, pp. 379-415.

16.

Fernie, S. , Metcalf, D. and Woodland, S. (1994), ‘Does HRM boost employee-management relations?’, Centre for Economic Performance Working Paper No. 548.

17.

Forth, J. and Millward, N. (2000), ‘The determinants of pay levels and fringe benefit provision in Britain’, National Institute of Economic and Social Research Discussion Paper No. 171.

18.

Freeman, R. and Medoff, J. (1984), What do unions do?, New York, Basic Books.

19.

Gallie, D. , White, M. , Cheng, Y. and Tomlinson, M. (1998), Restructuring the Employment Relationship, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

20.

Jowell, R. , Curtice, J. , Park, A. , and Thomson, K. (1999), British Social Attitudes: the 16th Report. Who Shares New Labour Values?, Dartmouth, Ashgate.

21.

Marshall, R. (1992), ‘The future role of government in industrial relations’, Industrial Relations, 31, 1, pp. 31-49.

22.

Millward, N. , Bryson, A. and Forth, J. (2000), All Change at Work? British Employment Relations, 1980-98, as portrayed by the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey Series, London, Routledge.

23.

Skinner, C. (1997), ‘The use of sample survey weights in the regression analysis of the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey Data’, University of Southampton, mimeo.