Be Proactive as Empowered? The Role of Trust in One's Supervisor in Psychological Empowerment, Feedback Seeking, and Job Performance

This study explores whether psychological empowerment links to employees feedback-seeking behavior, as well as the subsequent consequences of feedback-seeking behavior (i.e., job performance) by showing that trust in one's immediate supervisor plays a key role. Data were collected from full-time employees enrolled in the On-the-Job Masters programs of 13 universities in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. The results of this study provide support for a process model that links psychological empowerment, trust in one's immediate supervisor, feedback-seeking behavior, and job performance. Specifically, psychological empowerment is positively associated with feedback-seeking behavior via trust in one's immediate supervisor. Moreover, feedback-seeking behavior mediates the relationships between trust in one's immediate supervisor and job performance.