What makes employees cynical in public organizations? Antecedents of organizational cynicism

Abstract

Organizational cynicism is associated with undesirable outcomes such as reduced organizational performance. In this study we examined factors leading to organizational cynicism in a public organization undergoing market-oriented reforms. Participants were 275 employees at Korea Post, Korea. Our empirical results showed that organizational cynicism is decreased by coworker trust and transformational leadership and increased by job stress. Also, the positive role of job stress was stronger for employees who are silent than for those who express their opinions in the workplace. The findings suggest that organizations would benefit from actively managing factors that may affect the level of organizational cynicism among employees.