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- Simply, in an employment context, the Psychological Contract is the fairness or balance (typically as perceived by the employee) between: how the employee is treated by the employer, and what the employee puts into the job. The words 'employees' or 'staff' or 'workforce' are equally appropriate in the above description.
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Key Takeaways. Psychological contracts are unwritten agreements between employees and employers. They significantly impact employee engagement, motivation, and retention. Fairness and trust are fundamental to strong psychological contracts. Effective communication is vital for managing expectations.
A psychological contract breach is a subjective experience referred to the perception of one of the parties that the other has failed to adequately fulfill its obligations and promises. Breaches have been systematically connected to employees’ attitudes and behaviors that hamper the employment relationship.
What is a psychological contract? The term psychological contract refers to the often unspoken set of expectations and assumptions that two parties (employees and the organisation, its leaders and managers) have of each other about things like how they will behave and act.
- Definitions and Usage
- Diagrams
- Context and Implications
- Increasing Complexity
- Leadership Transparency
- Change Management
- 'Selling' Changes
- Empathy
- Virtuous Circles and Vicious Circles
- External and Relative Reference Factors
In management, economics and HR (human resources) the term 'the Psychological Contract' commonly and somewhat loosely refers to the actual - but unwritten - expectations of an employee or workforce towards the employer. The Psychological Contract represents, in a basic sense, the obligations, rights, rewards, etc., that an employee believes he/she ...
Much of the theory surrounding Psychological Contracts is intangible and difficult to represent in absolute measurable terms. Diagrams can be helpful in understanding and explaining intangible concepts. Here are a couple of diagram interpretations, offered here as useful models in understanding Psychological Contracts.
In management and organizational theory many employee attitudes such as trust, faith, commitment, enthusiasm, and satisfaction depend heavily on a fair and balanced Psychological Contract. Where the Contract is regarded by employees to be broken or unfair, these vital yet largely intangible ingredients of good organizational performance can evapora...
The nature, extent and complexity of the Psychological Contract are determined by the nature, extent and complexity of people's needs at work. Work needs are increasingly impacted by factors outside of work as well as those we naturally imagine arising inside work. People's lives today are richer, more varied, and far better informed and connected ...
This is worthy of separate note and emphasis because it's a big factor in organizations of all sorts. Lack of leadership transparency results from one or a number of reasons: 1. assumption by leadership that employees already know 2. assumption by leadership that employees aren't interested, or are incapable of understanding 3. thoughtless leadersh...
Change managementis a big challenge in today's organizations, and it is very significant in the Psychological Contract. Organizational change puts many different pressures on the Psychological Contract. So does change outside of organizations - in society, the economy, and in individuals' personal lives; for example 'Life-Stage' or 'generational' c...
The extent to which change, or any situation, is 'sold' to people warrants careful consideration. 'Selling' here refers informally to the use of persuasion, influence or incentive, in causing someone or a group to do something they would probably not otherwise do, which commonly in management and business seeks to achieve the acceptance of a propos...
Empathyis the ability or process used in understanding the other person's situation and feelings. We normally characterize empathy as the behaviour of a single person, but in the Psychological Contract empathy must be an organizational capability - a cultural norm and expectation of leaders and managers in their dealings with people. Empathy is cru...
When an employee feels bad, he/she tends to look for someone to blame. We all behave like this at times, especially when our emotional reserves and self-image are low. When an employee looks for someone to blame he/she tends to put the employer high on the list. The perception of the employer worsens. The Psychological Contract stinks mostly becaus...
There are for each of us many and various shifting external and/or relative reference factors and which influence our judgement as to what is right or fair or reasonable in our lives. Many external references become internalised or personalised, affecting our 'frame of reference' and how we value and compare situations and especially alternative op...
The psychological contract fits somewhat awkwardly within conventional. It is not a theory; nor is it a measure. Rather it is a hypothetical. inappropriately, from a legal metaphor.
the construct of the psychological contract is not without its critics. Guest (1998) has argued that the psychological contract should return to its roots in the form of including an ‘employer perspective’ in order to be able to fully assess the notion of mutual and reciprocal obligations. According to Guest (2004), for the
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We highlight the practical implications of research to date on psychological contracts and end with directions for future research to include the need for greater attention given to ideological currency, employee health, polycontextual approaches, the role of psychological needs, and post-breach/violation.
