Making sense of psychological contract breach

Abstract

PurposeA small number of psychological contract studies have explored the cognitive processes that influence employees' evaluation and reactions to perceived contract breach. The aim of this paper is to extend this reseaerch with a qualitative study on breach using a sense making perspective.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 15 interviews employing critical incident technique to examine employee sense making processes were carried out.FindingsThe findings highlight the variety of ways employees perceive contract breach and the processual nature of the experience. Emotions and actions were intertwined in the process of attributing responsibility and finding an explanation for the breach.Research limitations/implicationsContract breach is not necessarily a discrete event and reciprocity is integral to the sense making process. The findings provide a basis for future research that could explore the role of time, contextual factors and various employer representatives as sense‐givers in psychological contract evaluations.Practical implicationsEmployer representatives can aid employees to make sense of critical events that occur in organizations to minimize the effects of breach.Originality/valueThe paper provides an under‐researched sense making‐perspective on psychological contract breach. Through a qualitative inquiry, the complex nature of the employees' experience of and reaction to breach, is highlighted.