The Significance of Trust to the Adoption of E-Working Practices Within Local Government

Abstract

Drawinguponanin-depthstudyofonelocalauthoritybasedintheUnitedKingdom,thisarticle examinesthesignificanceoftrusttolocalgovernmentworkerswhoarebeginningtomakeincreasing use of e-technologies through e-working practices. The article identifies trust to be of particular significancebutthattheexaminedcontextisnotsupportiveofthattrustbeingdeveloped.Itnotes differencesintheperceptionssurroundingtrustdevelopment,thatconsiderationoftrustisnotjust limitedtotherelationshipbetweenmanagementandtheirworkers,andthatthereisafearthattrust isatriskofabuse.Inthefaceofe-workservingtoraisetheprofileoftrustasasignificantfactorfor concern,theassociatedtechnologiesaresuggestedtohavethepotentialtoofferasolutiontosome oftheissuesarising.