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The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of organisational politics (POP) as a mediator of the relationship between high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) and employee outcomes (trust in employer and employee engagement).

Using a longitudinal time-lagged quantitative survey design, data were collected in two waves (n = 1,554, time 1, and n = 970, time 2). Direct and indirect (mediation) effects were tested through structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS.

The results of SEM suggest that HIWPs are positively associated with trust in the employer and employee engagement and negatively associated with POP. The data supported a partial mediation model in which POP mediated the relationship between HIWPs and both trust in the employer and employee engagement levels.

HIWPs reduce employees’ perceptions of the degree to which their work environment is politicised, enhance employee engagement and develop a more trusting relationship between employee and employer.

Perceptions that workplace environments are characterised by political behaviours are ubiquitous and a large body of research has highlighted their detrimental effects on both employees and employers. This is the first study that has examined the potential of HIWPs in reducing such perceptions, which in turn, can foster employee engagement and enhance trust in the employer. Longitudinal studies of the effect HIWPs have on employee perceptions and attitudes are also still scarce.