PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT PERCEPTION AND CONTRACTUAL EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Contractual, short-term employees are increasingly utilized to support organizational performance. The employee's perception of the psychological contract were explored in this qualitative study through semi-structured interviews of 22 contractual workers. Psychological contract was fulfilled through transactional job tasks and psychological contract breaches were found in relationships with leadership and the organization. An exploratory examination from the contractual worker lens helped to influence the psychological contract on the employee performance and its use in leveraging this workforce to improve organizational performance.