The Transformational, Transactional and Passive-Avoidant Leadership Styles and Job Satisfaction in Ukrainian Railways: The Mediating Role of Trust in Leader

With regard to the ongoing socio-economic hardship in Ukraine, among the many difficulties faced there is also a problem of effective leadership. Many organizational leaders are acting as managers only and are not able to demonstrate the transformational vision necessary for effective leadership. One of the outcomes of ineffective leadership is a critical lack of trust in leaders, which affects not only job satisfaction, but also overall satisfaction among the population. These make the topic of leadership and trust important issues that should be investigated. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of transactional, transformational and passive-avoidant leadership styles on employee’s job satisfaction. The study also uses the trust in leader as a mediator of the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction. Ukrainian Railways has been chosen as a case study due to its representative role as a Ukrainian institution with problems such as ineffective usage of personnel management methods, distrust in certain situations to the company’s management and insufficient level of job satisfaction. In order to conduct the research, 845 employees have been surveyed to obtain more extensive results and determine the exact causes of the problems of interest. In the leadership literature, leadership styles and trust in leader, as well as trust in leader and job satisfaction, have been studied. However, the direct relationships and indirect relationships between leadership behaviors and job satisfaction have not iv been studied as extensively as the other relationships. The study contributes to this gap in the literature, as well as provides substantial assistance for company executives to achieve desired results. Keywords: transactional leadership; transformational leadership; passive-avoidant leadership; trust in leader; job satisfaction.