The relationship between perceived power distance and work alienation: A field study

In contemporary organizations, power distance plays a critical role in shaping how employees perceive hierarchical structures and their relationships with managers, directly influencing work attitudes and behaviors. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived power distance and job alienation. The research sample consisted of master trainers working in nine Public Education Centers (PECs) located in Artvin city center and eight districts. As of October 2024, the study population included a total of 508 master trainers: 140 in Artvin center, 93 in Hopa, 118 in Arhavi, 46 in Kemalpaşa, 43 in Yusufeli, 31 in Murgul, 37 in Ardanuç, 53 in Borçka, and 35 in Şavşat. Out of this population, data were collected from 319 master trainers, who constituted the sample of the study. In terms of demographic characteristics, 74.6% of the participants were female (n=238) and 25.4% were male (n=81). The largest age group was 31–40 years (35.4%), followed by 20–30 years (33.5%). Regarding work experience, 36.7% of the participants had less than five years, 28.8% had 6–15 years, and 29.2% had 16–25 years. Educationally, associate degree graduates accounted for the largest proportion (45.8%), while high school graduates made up 39.5%. With respect to weekly working hours, 33.9% reported 11–20 hours, and 30.7% reported 21–30 hours. The data were collected using the "Organizational Power Distance Scale" developed by Yorulmaz, Çolak, Altınkurt, and Yılmaz (2018) and the "Job Alienation Scale" developed by Mottaz (1981). According to the results of the normality analysis, it was determined that the data were not normally distributed. In line with these results, the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis methods were used to test the hypotheses. In addition, correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between the variables. The findings indicate that there is no significant overall relationship between perceived power distance and job alienation. In conclusion, the findings obtained from the study were comparatively evaluated with the studies in the literature, and similarities and differences were examined. Based on the XII results, several practical recommendations were developed, and the research was comprehensively completed.