Trust in Unions and Employee Well‐Being in Japanese Firms

ABSTRACT The author analyzes the relationships between employee trust in unions and employee well‐being to clarify Japanese unions' unique role as trust builders. Using data from a questionnaire survey of firms in Japan's globally competitive automobile industry, the author conducts an instrumental variable estimation in an ordered probit analysis considering the endogeneity of trust in unions. The author confirmed that employee trust in unions is positively associated with satisfaction with job security and overall job satisfaction and negatively associated with perceptions of job insecurity. Unions function as trust builders in the workplace and exert positive effects on employee well‐being.