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Nov 17, 2005 · Like many ideas in the social sciences and in organizational psychology there is no agreed definition of the psychological contract. Looking in a standard dictionary is unlikely to help as, unlike some other concepts in organizational psychology such as culture, leadership, stress, and motivation, the psychological contract is not a term that is used in everyday language but rather one ...
- The Definition
- The Pros
- The Cons
- The Impact on The Bottom Line
As editor, I have written about this form of ‘contract’ on occasion. Below is an excerpt from The Importance of the Psychological Contract. Vera Hillman, a former HR Exchange Network contributor, has also written about the concept. In her piece, The Psychological Contract: Relevance for Our Everyday Business Operations, Hillmann outlined what she c...
Having defined the psychological contract in greater detail, let us turn the focus now to the pros and cons.
Not-On-Paper
As previously mentioned, the psychological contract is not a physical contract; it’s not documented in any way. This makes it very difficult to execute. In fact, some say it is for this reason alone a PC cannot actually be defined as a contract.
Inconsistent
The psychological contract isinconsistent. Every single employee develops their own PC with the company. While these contracts may be similar across the board, they are still just as unique as each member of the company workforce.
Redundant
There are some that believe the concept of the psychological contract is redundant, even obsolete. Why? There are other ways to measure the employee-employer relationship. This includes employee engagement and pulse surveys.
Like it or not, the psychological contract is real and in force for every employee. Ignoring this fact can be a detriment to the company. Why? These contracts, while the responsibility of both parties, are not created by the employer, but the employee. Additionally, they can change those contracts on a whim and there is no notice required to the em...
- Mason Stevenson
We provide a review of psychological contract research, beginning with past conceptualizations and empirical evidence. We tailor this retrospective look by reviewing the antecedents and outcomes associated with psychological contract breach and discussing the dominant theoretical explanations for the breach-outcome relationship. This synthesis of past evidence provides the foundation for ...
Psychological contract breaches have been found to predict turnover intentions, increased sickness, stress and conflict. Development of the term The term was first introduced by Chris Argyris in 1960 and developed significantly by Denise Rousseau in 1989 in the seminal paper “Psychological and implied contracts in organizations”.
A psychological contract is a set of individual beliefs that a person has about the reciprocal obligations and benefits established in an exchange relationship, such as an employment relationship in an organizational setting. A psychological ...
Apr 30, 2024 · It highlights the need for a paradigm shift towards studies conducted from the employer's standpoint, which can offer invaluable insights into the dynamics of psychological contracts.
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Nov 17, 2005 · However, other researchers (e.g. Guest 1998; Meckler, Drake, and Levinson 2003) believe that the psychological contract, by definition, does not include explicit promises and, therefore, by making psychological contracts explicit we are in fact managing a formal legal employment contract. Within this approach, managing the psychological contract would appear to involve intervening in more ...
