Story at a glance
- A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health uncovered the correlation when measuring public trust in federal and state entities amid a crisis.
- The study found that people with high levels of trust in the government were more likely to express feelings of job security, a commitment from their employer and helpful attitudes toward their co-workers.
- Survey respondents were not asked to identify their political affiliation.
A new study suggests there is a link between trust in the government and positive workplace attitudes and behaviors.
A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health uncovered the correlation when measuring public trust in federal and state entities amid a crisis via a survey of 420 adults across the U.S.
The study found that people with high levels of trust in the government were more likely to express feelings of job security, a commitment from their employer and helpful attitudes toward their co-workers.
“It may come down to what it means psychologically to be able to trust in entities other than yourself, whether that’s the federal or state government, your organization or your supervisor,” study co-author and Washington State University, Vancouver professor Tahira Probst, said in a news release.
“It’s these internalized beliefs that another entity cares about my well-being and has good intentions—that kind of trust is crucial to facilitating relationships with other individuals and organizations.”
The group noted the possible impact of political ideology on government trust and corresponding workplace attitudes. But respondents were not asked to reveal their political leanings.
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Survey respondents expressed varying degrees of trust, which researchers broke down into several categories. The first group, 26.5 percent of respondents, were high trustors –those who trust in both state and federal government institutions. This group, researchers noted, registered greater compliance with CDC COVID-19 guidance.
Another group, 25.7 percent, indicated they trusted their state government but not federal entities. Only 2.3 percent of respondents trusted the federal government without trusting their state.
Approximately 23.9 percent and 21.6 percent respectively said they were ambivalent or distrusted both state and federal governments.
“We found that people can have different trusting profiles, so they either felt they can trust the federal government, but not the state or vice versa,” said study lead author Lixin Jiang.
“The best-case scenario was when people trusted both types of government, rather than the people who didn’t trust either or felt neutral.”
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