DEVELOPING CIVIL SERVANTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION IN COST REDUCTION POLICY THROUGH TRUST: A CASE OF MALAYSIA

This study examined the factors affecting cost reduction policy implementation amongst Malaysian civil servants through trust and sense of engagement. Trust was divided into three categories, namely, trusting belief, trusting intention and emotional trust. Civil servant engagement in the workplace was treated as the mediating variable. All these values were included in the conceptual framework. Cross-sectional survey was adopted to validate the framework. The sample size for the population of this study was determined at 400. From the analysis it was found that trusting intention, trusting belief and emotional trust influenced participation in cost reduction policy implementation and engagement significantly. Additionally, engagement mediated the relationships between trusting belief, trusting intention, emotional trust and participation in cost reduction policy implementation. Lastly, it was found that engagement influenced participation in cost reduction policy implementation significantly. The practical implications are the discovery of theoretical, personal, and workplace practical best practices for the participation in cost reduction policy implementation in public organizations.