Drawing insights from leadership, public relations, and communication literature, this study aimed to advance the theorization of leadership communication in disruptive crisis times. Specifically, leadership communication attributes of transparency, authenticity, empathy, and optimism (TAEO) were connected to a central internal communication outcome, employee trust. Through an online survey with 1,044 full-time employees working across diverse industry sectors in the U.S., this study also tested the potential mediators of feelings of uncertainty and psychological well-being. Structural equation modeling analysis results showed that CEO communication attributes of TAEO during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced employees’ feeling of uncertainty and enhanced their psychological well-being, which in turn, boosted employee trust toward the organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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探索破坏性危机时期领导沟通对员工信任影响的综合框架

这项研究汲取了领导力、公共关系和沟通文献的见解，旨在推进破坏性危机时期领导力沟通的理论化。具体来说，领导力沟通的透明度、真实性、同理心和乐观 (TAEO) 属性与核心的内部沟通结果（员工信任）相关。通过对美国不同行业的 1,044 名全职员工进行的在线调查，这项研究还测试了不确定感和心理健康的潜在中介因素。结构方程模型分析结果表明，在COVID-19大流行期间，TAEO的CEO沟通属性减少了员工的不确定感，增强了他们的心理健康感，进而增强了员工对组织的信任。讨论了理论和实践意义。