What is exchanged in psychological contracts? Multiple sets of obligations, targeted effort and uncertainty reduction

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rodwell ◽  
Julia Ellershaw
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Career Commitment ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the currency underlying the employment relationship of allied health workers by investigating the mechanisms of their psychological contracts. Design/methodology/approach – Path analyses were conducted on the survey responses from Australian allied health professionals (n=112; a 46 per cent response rate). Findings – The analyses revealed that psychological contract promises decreased organizational citizenship behaviours relating to the organization (OCBO), while contract fulfilment increased commitment and reduced psychological distress. Contract breach reduced organizational commitment. Originality/value – The results indicate that obligations may be the primary currency in their psychological contract, with career commitment forming a set of obligations by which employees determine their OCBO, highlighting the nature of the resources exchanged to be targeted to their perceived source, in this case organizational promises begetting discretionary contributions to the organization. Further, fulfilment may reduce uncertainty, which in turn can reduce strain and increase OCBO.

Perceptions of fairness in the psychological contracts of allied health professionals

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Flower ◽  
Defne Demir ◽  
John McWilliams ◽  
Dianne Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organisational Justice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between components of the psychological contract, organisational justice, and negative affectivity (NA), with key employee outcomes (i.e. organisational commitment, job satisfaction, depression, and psychological distress) among allied health professionals. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 134 (response rate of 46 per cent) Australian allied health professional completed a questionnaire. Findings – Multiple regressions revealed that higher NA was associated with lower organisational commitment, lower job satisfaction, and higher levels of depression. The psychological contract variable, breach, was associated with depression. Informational justice was associated with organisational commitment. Distributive justice was associated with job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – This research is limited by its cross-sectional design and that the data were self-reported. The results obtained suggest the potential utility of collecting longitudinal data to replicate and extend the results. Practical implications – While NA may be beyond management control, it may be ameliorated by attention to improving communication of management decisions and by sensitivity to the elements implicit in psychological contracts. The negative consequences of contract breach may be offset by informational and distributive justice. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to examine multiple measures of the psychological contract in addition to organisational justice and NA. Further, this study adds to the literature for allied health professionals, where little is known about factors contributing to their turnover.

Leaders' trait signaling effect on followers' psychological contract dynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erum Ishaq ◽  
Usman Raja ◽  
Dave Bouckenooghe ◽  
Sajid Bashir
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Power Distance Orientation ◽  
Path Analyses ◽  
Contract Type

PurposeUsing signaling theory and the literature on psychological contracts, the authors investigate how leaders' personalities shape their followers' perceptions of the type of psychological contract formed. They also suggest that leaders' personalities impact their followers' perceived contract breach. Furthermore, the authors propose that power distance orientation in organizations acts as an important boundary condition that enhances or exacerbates the relationships between personality and contract type and personality and perceived breach.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through multiple sources in Pakistan from 456 employees employed in 102 bank branches. Multilevel moderated path analyses provided reasonably good support for our hypotheses.FindingsThe leaders' personalities impacted the relational contracts of their followers in the cases of extraversion and agreeableness, whereas neuroticism had a significant relationship with the followers' formation of transactional contracts. Similarly, agreeableness, neuroticism and conscientiousness had significant relationships with perceived breach. Finally, the power distance of the followers aggregated at a group level moderated the personality-contract type and personality-perceived breach relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThis research advances understanding of psychological contracts in organizations. More specifically, it shows that the personality of leader would have profound impact on the type of contract their employees form and the likelihood that would perceive the breach of contract.Originality/valueThis research extends existing personality-psychological contract literature by examining the role of leaders' personalities in signaling to employees the type of contract that is formed and the perception of its breach. The role of power distance organizational culture as a signaling environment is also considered.

Organizational citizenship behaviors in the era of changing employment patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Lo Presti ◽  
Amelia Manuti ◽  
Jon P. Briscoe
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Citizenship Behaviors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Career Attitudes ◽  
Boundaryless Career

Purpose The increasing flexibility and discontinuity of labor relations have been associated with the development of new forms of psychological contracts as well as the development of more self-directed and mobile career attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the forms of psychological contract and protean/boundaryless career attitudes on the one hand and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) on the other. Design/methodology/approach In total, 458 employees of three large Italian organizations were sampled through a self-report questionnaire. Zero-order correlations were carried out to examine the associations between study variables while dominance analysis, along with multiple linear regression, was used for evaluating their unique contribution with respect to OCB. Findings OCB were positively predicted by relational and balanced psychological contracts, protean career attitude and boundaryless mindset. Practical implications Organizations must pay particular attention to the content of the psychological contract and the career attitudes of their employees because they influence their willingness to carry out OCB. Originality/value The results add new evidence to the careers literature in terms of boundary conditions with regard to the effects of protean and boundaryless career attitudes as well as different forms of psychological contracts.

The interplay of psychological contract breach, stress and job outcomes during organizational restructuring

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Thiruchelvi Arunachalam
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Job Involvement ◽  
Psychological Contract Breach ◽  
Organizational Restructuring ◽  
Job Outcomes ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Employee Stress ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to study the impact of psychological contract breach and employee stress on job outcomes such as job involvement and organizational citizenship behaviour in the Indian banking sector, with special reference to State Bank of India. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administered. Data was collected from employees of a bank, which has undergone a merger. Validity tests were carried out to confirm the accuracy of the measurement variables. Regression analysis was used to test the stated hypotheses. A paired t-test was used to compare the level of job outcomes experienced by the employees before and after the merger. Findings The study has shown that psychological contract breach has an impact on job stress. Results also show that the merger has made a positive impact on the employees. Job involvement and engagement were found to be improved after the merger. Employees were also found to be more committed to the organization and exhibit high organizational citizenship behaviour. Practical implications The organizational restructuring has been long thought to play a crucial role in affecting the job outcomes of employees. This study reconfirms those concepts and provides implications for researchers and managers. Originality/value This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature as this is one of the very few studies to deal with the impact of organizational restructuring on employee stress and job outcomes in the Indian Scenario.

Psychological contract breach among allied health professionals

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rodwell ◽  
Andre Gulyas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Healthcare Organisation ◽  
Interpersonal Justice ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Organisational Justice

Purpose – Allied health professionals are vital for effective healthcare yet there are continuing shortages of these employees. Building on work with other healthcare professionals, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of psychological contract (PC) breach and types of organisational justice on variables important to retention among allied health professionals: mental health and organisational commitment. The potential effects of justice on the negative outcomes of breach were examined. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple regressions analysed data from 113 allied health professionals working in a medium-large Australian healthcare organisation. Findings – The main negative impacts on respondents’ mental health and commitment were from high PC breach, low procedural and distributive justice and less respectful treatment from organisational representatives. The interaction between procedural justice and breach illustrates that breach may be forgivable if processes are fair. Surprisingly, a betrayal or “aggravated breach effect” may occur after a breach when interpersonal justice is high. Further, negative affectivity was negatively related to respondents’ mental health (affective outcomes) but not commitment (work-related attitude). Practical implications – Healthcare organisations should ensure the fairness of decisions and avoid breaking promises within their control. If promises cannot reasonably be kept, transparency of processes behind the breach may allow allied health professionals to understand that the organisation did not purposefully fail to fulfil expectations. Originality/value – This study offers insights into how breach and four types of justice interact to influence employee mental health and work attitudes among allied health professionals.

Covenantal leadership and the psychological contract: moral insights for the modern leader

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1302-1312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cam Caldwell ◽  
Zuhair Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Psychological Contracts ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Leadership Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moral Duties ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Research confirms that leaders continue to struggle in earning followers’ trust, commitment, and organizational citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of the relationship between leader and followers as a covenant and to identify five roles of the leader that are necessary to be effective in creating the required relationship with followers to earn their trust in an increasingly competitive and complex market. Design/methodology/approach The approach of this paper is to present a summary of the nature of psychological contracts and to identify seven testable propositions about covenantal leadership and its ability to build trust and honor duties implied in psychological contracts of employees. Findings The authors explain how the five roles of the covenantal leader increase trust and examine each of these roles in identifying the importance of covenantal leadership in serving the modern leader. Research limitations/implications This research reaffirms the importance of leaders understanding the often unarticulated perceptions of their employees in imposing moral duties and obligations on leaders and organizations. Practical implications The practical value of this paper lies in its insights about the importance of leaders understanding and honoring implied as well as stated duties, and in recognizing employee perceptions about their needs and the often unaddressed obligations of leaders and organizations. Social implications The underlying assumptions of this paper are that leaders who seek to create greater commitment and higher performance can do so by seeking out, understanding, and honoring the implicit and explicit assumptions and expectations of their employees. Originality/value Covenantal leadership is a relatively new leadership model introduced by Moses Pava (2003) and the five roles of covenantal leadership have rarely been addressed as a leadership perspective in the scholarly and practitioner literature.

The factors that influence transfer of training and its effect on organizational citizenship behaviour

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nik Nadian Nisa Nik Nazli ◽  
Sheikh Muhamad Hizam Sheikh Khairudin
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Citizenship ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Transfer Of Training ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Learning Culture ◽  
Training Simulation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Training

Purpose This paper aims to identify the relationship between organizational learning culture, psychological contract breach, work engagement, training simulation and transfer of training, to examine the effect of transfer of training on organizational citizenship behaviour and to determine the mediating effect of transfer of training on the relationship between organizational learning culture, psychological contract breach, work engagement and training simulation with organizational citizenship behaviour. This study investigated these relationships in the context of public sector organizations in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected by using the purposive sampling from Malaysian Civil Defence Force or Angkatan Pertahanan Awam (APM) employees who attended a disaster preparedness training programme between March to May 2015. The questionnaire was the main tool for the data gathering. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling technique using AMOS 22 version software. Findings The findings showed that work engagement and training simulation are the factors that influence the transfer of training, and there is a positive effect of the transfer of training on the organizational citizenship behaviour. The result also demonstrated that the transfer of training is the mediator in the relationship between work engagement, training simulation and organizational citizenship behaviour. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on public sector areas which is Malaysia Civil Defense Force (APM). No interview session was conducted due to the time constraint in completing this study. Originality/value This study extends the existing understanding of factors that influence transfer of training and the effect of transfer of training on employees and organization. In other words, through the positive transfer of training, organizations not only attain positive returns on their training investment but also improve the performance and the work attitude of the organization’s employees.

scholarly journals The impact of economic factors on the relationships between psychological contract breach and work outcomes: a meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thushel Jayaweera ◽  
Matthijs Bal ◽  
Katharina Chudzikowski ◽  
Simon de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Unemployment Rate ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Inflation Rate ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Psychological Contract Breach ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Outcome Relationship ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the macroeconomic factors that may moderate the psychological contract breach (PCB) and work outcome relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted a meta-analysis based on data from 134 studies.FindingsThe study revealed that the inflation rate and the unemployment rate of a country moderated the association among employee PCB, job performance and turnover.Research limitations/implicationsThe availability of more detailed macroeconomic data against the PCB and outcome relationship for other countries and studies examining the impact of micro-economic data for PCB and outcome relationship would provide a better understanding of the context.Practical implicationsThe authors believe that the results highlight the importance of the national economy since it impacts individual outcomes following a breach.Social implicationsEmployment policies to capture the impact of macroeconomic circumstances as discussed.Originality/valueOne of the valuable contributions made by this paper is that the authors capture the current accumulative knowledge regarding the breach and performance and breach and turnover relationship. Second, the study examines how the inflation rate and unemployment rate could moderate the association between PCB and job performance and turnover.

Psychological contract breach and teachers' organizational commitment: mediating roles of job embeddedness and leader-member exchange

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Serwaa Amoah ◽  
Francis Annor ◽  
Maxwell Asumeng
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Job Embeddedness ◽  
Psychological Contract Breach ◽  
Leader Member Exchange ◽  
Normative Commitment ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Continuance Commitment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Member Exchange

PurposeThe study examined the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational commitment and whether leader-member exchange and job embeddedness mediate this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a quantitative approach and is based on a sample of 298 teachers in basic schools in Accra, Ghana. Participants completed surveys with standardized measures on psychological contract breach, job embeddedness, leader-member exchange and organizational commitment. Hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling in AMOS 21.0.FindingsPsychological contract breach had a direct negative relationship with affective and normative commitment but had no significant direct relationship with continuance commitment. Psychological contract breach was indirectly related to affective and normative commitment through both job embeddedness and leader-member exchange, and indirectly related to continuance commitment through only job embeddedness.Practical implicationsFindings from the study suggest that employers' failure to fulfill their obligations to employees has significant potential cost to the organization, and underscore the need for managers, particularly in educational institutions, to institute measures to eliminate or minimize the occurrence of psychological contract breach.Originality/valueThe study contributes to research examining antecedents of organizational commitment as well as the mechanisms linking psychological contract breach to organizational commitment in the educational context.

Incongruent influences: joint effects on the job attitudes of employees with psychological contract breach in the MENA region

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Jain ◽  
Danilo Le Sante ◽  
Chockalingam Viswesvaran ◽  
Rakesh Belwal
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Job Attitudes ◽  
Psychological Contract Breach ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Contract Breach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Variables

Purpose The psychological contract breach (PCB) literature has documented the negative effects of PCB on employee job attitudes and the variables that moderate (accentuate or mitigate) this relationship. Given that multiple variables together influence a subordinate’s PCB – job attitudes relationship, this paper aims to investigate a three-way interaction between corporate reputation, supervisor’s and subordinate’s PCBs on the job attitudes of the latter. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a dyadic sample of 227 employees and their 79 supervisors from some of the well-known companies in Oman. The authors used SPSS (version 25) to examine the three-way interaction of focal employee PCB, supervisor PCB and corporate reputation on employee job attitudes. Findings The results indicated that depending on the perception of corporate reputation, the extent of the supervisor’s PCB perception has a differential influence on the employee PCB – job attitudes relationship. Originality/value By investigating the joint (sometimes conflicting) influences of multiple moderators which enhances the ecological validity, this paper makes an original and important contribution to the PCB literature.

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