Content area

Full text

Introduction

Flight attendants, due to their frequent interactions with passengers, do emotional labor. They play a critical role on passengers’ perceptions of service quality and image of the airline company (Moon et al., 2013). However, they have to manage a number of problems simultaneously. For example, they suffer from jetlag, work overload, emotional dissonance, burnout and irate passengers (Hu et al., 2017; Karatepe and Vatankhah, 2014). While handling these problems, they try to serve passengers with a smile and respond to passenger problems based on the company’s standards. Under these circumstances, they seek care and support from their managers/leaders (Ling et al., 2017).

Servant leadership (SL) which refers to:

An understanding and practice of leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader, emphasizing leader behaviors that focus on follower development, and de-emphasizing glorification of the leader

(Hale and Fields, 2007, p. 397) is a promising style for the aviation industry (Brownell, 2010). Servant leaders serve the needs of and work for the good of their followers and see this as a top priority (Jaramillo et al., 2009). Servant leaders empower and develop their followers (Van Dierendonck, 2011). They listen to their followers and show empathy and humility (Van Dierendonck, 2011). They use persuasion toward their followers and behave ethically (Liden et al., 2014a, 2014b). They also believe in their followers’ skills and abilities to achieve (Koyuncu et al., 2014).

Employees with favorable perceptions of SL practices develop trust in organization (TIO). Trust refers to “[…] a psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behavior of another” (Rousseau et al., 1998, p. 395). TIO is one of the immediate outcomes of SL (Joseph and Winston, 2005). In an environment where SL is implemented successfully, employees develop TIO that in turn engenders positive job outcomes.

Purpose

Grounded in the above backdrop, our study investigates TIO as a mediator of the impact of SL on job, career and life satisfaction. Specifically, our study examines:

  • the impact of SL on TIO;

  • the effects of SL and TIO on job and career satisfaction;

  • the impacts of TIO and job and career satisfaction on life satisfaction;

  • TIO as a...

Show less