The Impact of Performance Appraisal on Employee Trust in Leadership

Abstract

Performance appraisal is a key determinant of employees' attitudes and behaviors. This study targets private-sector employees in Yemen to test the impact of performance appraisal accuracy, justice, and feedback on employees' trust in leadership. The role of employees' satisfaction from their appraisal experience as a mediator between performance appraisal and their trust in leadership is also tested. The data were collected from employees who had an appraisal experience in the last two years, and the SEM analysis revealed that performance appraisal justice has an impact on employees' performance appraisal satisfaction and trust in leadership. Performance appraisal feedback has an impact only on employees' performance appraisal satisfaction. Employees' performance appraisal satisfaction has an impact on trust in leadership. Finally, the only mediating role for employees' performance appraisal satisfaction was between performance appraisal justice and trust in leadership. This study provides ideas on how to get a positive employee reaction toward performance appraisal.