Psychological Contract Breach Research Articles

The Mediating Role of Organizational Cynicism in the Effect of Psychological Contract Breach on Counterproductive Work Behaviors

Günümüz örgütlerinde entelektüel sermaye unsurlarından biri olarak, örgüt çalışan ilişkileri gittikçe daha fazla öne çıkmakta ve örgütlerin işleyişinde temel belirleyicilerden biri olarak göze çarpmaktadır. Psikolojik sözleşme çalışanların örgütten yazılı olmayan ve karşılıklı olarak açık bir şekilde ortaya konulmayan beklentiler bütününü ifade etmektedir. Çalışanların zihninde oluşturdukları söz konusu psikolojik sözleşmenin kurallarına uyulmadığına dair algıları, psikolojik sözleşme ihlalini ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bu durum çalışan üzerinde örgüte karşı olumsuz duygular beslemekten, bilinçli ve kasıtlı olarak örgüte zarar verici eylemlere kadar, örgütler için göz ardı edilemeyecek istenmeyen olumsuz davranışlara yol açabilmektedir. Bu bağlamda araştırmanın amacı, psikolojik sözleşme ihlali ile üretkenlik karşıtı iş davranışları arasındaki ilişkide örgütsel sinizmin aracı rolünü ortaya koymaktır. Kesitsel bir araştırma olan bu çalışmada veriler, Kayseri ilinde mobilya sektöründe faaliyet gösteren yedi farklı işletmede çalışan 476 beyaz yakalı katılımcıdan kolayda örnekleme yöntemi ile elde edilmiş ve IBM SPSS, AMOS ve Process Makro (Model 4) uygulamalarından faydalanılarak analize tabi tutulmuştur. Analizler sonucunda, işgörenler tarafından algılanan psikolojik sözleşme ihlallerinin üretkenlik karşıtı iş davranışlarını pozitif yönde ve anlamlı bir biçimde etkilediği ve örgütsel sinizmin bu ilişkide aracı rol oynadığı bulgusuna ulaşılmıştır.

How workplace bullying affects knowledge hiding? The roles of psychological contract breach and learning goal orientation

Purpose Workplace bullying is a serious problem among nurses, which results in negative workplace behavior. Therefore, this study aims to understand how workplace bullying affects employees’ knowledge hiding behavior. Specifically, this study explored psychological contract breach as an underlying mechanism between workplace bullying and knowledge hiding; and learning goal orientation as a boundary condition between psychological contract breach and knowledge hiding. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data from 343 nurses working in the health-care sector of Pakistan on convenience basis using a questionnaire-based survey between December 2021 to March 2022. The data were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Findings The results revealed the adverse effect of workplace bullying on knowledge hiding behaviors among nurses, and psychological contract breach was noted to mediate this association. Further, learning goal orientation was noted to buffer the relationship between psychological contract breach and knowledge hiding. Research limitations/implications The cross-section design may restrict causality; however, the findings suggest health-care administration take appropriate measures to reduce the adverse effects of workplace bullying. In addition, the administration is suggested to implement training programs to make nurses capable of dealing with workplace stressors (bullying and psychological contract breach). Originality/value This research provides a novel perspective to consider psychological contract breach as a mechanism between workplace bullying and knowledge hiding in the health-care sector from the conservation of resources perspective. It further explored learning goal orientation as a buffer to mitigate the effect of psychological contract breach on knowledge hiding.

The Effect of Perception of Psychological Contract Breach on Job Satisfaction: A Study on Academics Working in the Field of Health

Kurumlar arası somut farklılıkların giderek azaldığı günümüzde, sürdürülebilir rekabet perspektifinden bakıldığında, kurumlar için insan odaklı unsurların ön plâna çıktığı gözlenmektedir. Çalışanların iş tatmini kavramı önemini uzun yıllarca korumuş, son zamanlarda ise psikolojik sözleşme ihlâli kavramı önem kazanmaya başlamıştır. Toplumların inşası, gelişimi ve değişiminde yükseköğretim ve akademisyenler önemli bir konuma sahiptir. Söz konusu sağlık alanı olunca konunun önemi bir kat daha artmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı sağlık alanında görev yapan akademisyenlerin iş tatmini üzerinde psikolojik sözleşme ihlâl algısının etkisini tespit etmek, organizasyon için önemli bir çıktı olan iş tatmini ve boyutları ile psikolojik sözleşme ihlâl algısı ve boyutları arasındaki ilişkileri ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaçla Ankara ilinde, üniversitelerin tıp ve diş hekimliği hariç sağlık alanında eğitim veren bölümlerinde görev yapan 409 akademisyenin katılımı ile bir araştırma gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler elektronik anket yöntemi ile toplanarak istatistiksel analize tâbi tutulmuş; korelasyon ve regresyon analizi sonuçları özetlenerek sunulmuştur. Regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre ilişkisel ihlâlin, iş tatmini boyutları üzerinde daha etkili olduğu gözlenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre çeşitli öneriler sunulmuştur.

Uloga interpretacijskog procesa u razvoju emocionalnog odgovora na povredu psihološkog ugovora / The Role of The Interpretation Process in The Development of An Emotional Response to A Psychological Contract Breach

The psychological contract is a perceived agreement on mutual obligations and resource exchange, which in the academic work context will first be recognized in the relationship between teaching staff and higher education organizations. This is an implicit contract formed based on given or just implied promises, which the parties in the relationship do not have to be fully aware of. However, such a contract will guide their mutual behaviour, and a number of individually and organizationally relevant outcomes will depend on its (un) fulfilment. Since the concept of a psychological contract is relatively new and unexplored in the Bosnian academic context, this paper sought to answer the question: Does the perception of a psychological contract breach lead to an emotional reaction to that breach, and under what conditions? Following the identified problem, the correlation between the perceived breach of the psychological contract and the emotional reaction to the breach, and the moderating influence of the interpretive process (defined through attribution of causes, perception of fairness and perception of organizational politics) on this relationship was examined. The results suggest that in a sample of Bosnian academic staff it is justified to say that the correlation between the perceived psychological contract breach and emotional response to that breach will be stronger if the staff members perceive interactional fairness in the organization to be high. The academic staff’s perception of the presence of political behaviour in the organization, as well as the way they attribute the causes of the psychological contract breach, probably does not have a significant impact on their interpretation of the psychological contract breach.

Bottom-line mentality and employee innovation: Chinese study shows negative impact due to breakdown in support and trust

PurposeThis paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approachThis briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.FindingsA study from China of workers in technology and cultural firms has shown bottom-line mentality (BLM) has a negative impact on employee innovation. This happens because it increases psychological contract breach (PCB) between management and employees.Originality/valueThe briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Examining how different social account timings influence stress resolution in the aftermath of a psychological contract breach

A great deal of empirical research on the consequences of a psychological contract breach (PCB) has overlooked the role of time in understanding individuals’ reactions to a PCB. Moreover, psychological contract research primarily focuses on how employees react to perceptions of a PCB, while questions regarding how the organization’s responsiveness (i.e., social account) might impact these reactions remain unanswered. We aimed to enhance the understanding of stress reactions and recovery that are triggered by PCB perceptions and stimulate empirical research that treats psychological contracts as a dynamic phenomenon. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, we investigated how social account delivery timing—and its subjective experience—influences individuals’ stress resolution processes in the aftermath of a PCB. To this end, we used an experimental design and assessed participants’ physiological (i.e., heart rate) and psychological (i.e., self-report) stress reactions after inducing a breach. Our results underscore that a PCB is experienced as a stressful event. In addition, we find that social account timing influences heart rate recovery following a PCB. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and offer recommendations for practitioners.

You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours: Unethical pro-organizational behavior and deviance in response to different psychological contract states

In this multi-study paper, we integrate Social Exchange Theory and the discretionary workplace behavior literature. Specifically, we posit that by breaching their psychological contract (PC) obligations, organizations may trigger negative reciprocity, which in turn may increase deviant behavior. Moreover, we posit that by fulfilling their legitimately PC obligations, organizations may trigger positive reciprocity, which in turn may increase unethical pro-organizational behavior. Across two studies (3-wave field study with traditional breach measure and 2-wave field study with expanded breach measure and polynomial regression), we found repeated evidence for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that PC breach (Study 1) and PC under-fulfillment (Study 2) are positively related to the enactment of organizational deviance via negative reciprocity. Furthermore, we found that PC fulfillment (Study 1) and high absolute levels of PC fulfillment (Study 2) are positively related to unethical pro-organizational behavior via positive reciprocity. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Breaches and buffers: Can meaningful work impact turnover during COVID-19 pandemic?

The fear and uncertainty created by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have strained the employer-employee relationship. This research seeks to understand how psychological contract breach shapes employees' perspectives of meaningful work and its influence on turnover intention. Drawing on event systems theory, we investigated how objective events in the environment (e.g., global pandemic) impact employees. We also argue that the career shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected employees' choices based on their job fit and psychological resources. Findings indicate that experiencing meaningful work reduced turnover intention, especially for those that experienced less psychological contract breach. Also, experiencing meaningful work reduced turnover intention most for individuals whose working hours were not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings show that experiencing meaningful work in a relatively stable job reduces employees' potential turnover during exogenous shocks. The study also highlights the importance of meaningful work and why organizations should collaborate and assist their employees in making work more meaningful.

Examining the interplay of perceived organizational justice and psychological contract breach on police corruption in Nigeria

Abstract Drawing upon equity and social exchange theories, this study expands police corruption literature by examining how perceived organizational justice (procedural, distributive, interpersonal, and informational justice) interplays with psychological contract breach (PCB) to predict corrupt tendencies among a sample of the Nigerian police. Two hundred and sixty-three police officers participated in the study. Data analysed using moderated regression statistics indicated that PCB was positively associated with corrupt tendencies. Perceived fairness in organizational procedure, distributive system, interpersonal treatment, and information reduced the extent to which PCB relates with corrupt tendencies among police officers. To reduce the effect of PCB on police corruption, the present findings suggest the need for police authorities and relevant stakeholders to always maintain fairness in their managerial procedures and practices as well as how they treat their employees.

Unmet expectations and job involvement among doctors: does individual conscientiousness play a mitigating role?

Background/Aims Doctors are responsible for leading the care of patients. This study analysed the moderating role of individual conscientiousness on the relationship between psychological contract breach and levels of job involvement among medical doctors working in Ghana. A psychological contract breach occurs when an organisation does not deliver on their expected obligations to an employee, whether these expectations are written or unwritten. Methods All 251 doctors working in the upper east and upper west regions of Ghana were invited to participate, of which 214 doctors responded. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires, with 15 statements relating to psychological contract breach, 10 statements relating to job involvement and four statements relating to individual conscientiousness. Respondents rated their agreement to the statements on a 7-point Likert scale (1=least agreement; 7=strongest agreement). Participant demographics were also collected. Relationships between the data for each section were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 24) and the Smart PLS 2.0M.3. Results Psychological contract breach was found to have a significant negative relationship with job involvement (P<0.05). Conscientiousness had a moderating effect on this relationship, meaning that doctors who were more conscientious were less likely to reduce their job involvement when a psychological contract breach occurred. Conclusions When a psychological contract breach occurs, doctors who have a conscientious personality trait are likely to continue showing high levels of job involvement. This implies that doctors who are naturally hardworking, organised, disciplined and highly motivated are more likely to persevere with psychological and emotional commitment to their role, but this may make them more vulnerable to mistreatment (whether intentional or not) by their employer.

주재원의 심리적 계약위반 인지가 직무소진에 미치는 영향

With the recent attention to expatriate management increasing in high uncertainty, this study focused on the job burnout of expatriates as a topic organizations should be interested in. Building on psychological contract perspective, this study casts career growth opportunity and feeling of violation as an explanatory mechanism to explain why expatriates’ psychological contract breach results in harm to expatriates’ job burnout - emotional exhaustion and cynicism. The study, using survey data from 210 expatriates in 34 countries working at large Korean companies found that the psychological contract breach perceived by the expatriates had a positive effect on emotional exhaustion, but did not significantly affect cynicism. However, it was found that psychological contract breach had a positive effect on cynicism through career growth opportunities of expatriates and had a positive effect on emotional exhaustion and cynicism through feeling of violation. This study expands and complements the social exchange theory-oriented discussion on the psychological contract theory and provides practical implications for the management of expatriates by showing the relationship between psychological contract breach and job burnout.

Psychological Contract Breach and Outcomes: A Systematic Review of Reviews

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 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. Despite its apparent clarity, some relevant topics about psychological contract breach, psychological contract fulfillment and the relationships with their consequences still remain unclear. The main objective of this review of reviews is to conduct a review of reviews on psychological contract breaches, considering both systematic reviews and metanalytical papers with the purpose of synthesizing the evidence to date under the psychological contract theory. Using the SPIDER tool, our systematic review of reviews focuses on: (a) Sample; (b) Phenomenon of Interest; (c) Design; (d) Evaluation; and (e) Research type. Finally, only eight systematic reviews and meta-analyses met the inclusion criteria. Of the eight reviews included, seven were meta-analyses while the other was a systematic quantitative review. This study describes the available empirical research on psychological contract breaches and fulfillment and summarizes the meta-analytical evidence on their relationships with attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, as well as the role of potential moderator variables. Due to the methodological caveats of the reviews themselves and of the primary studies they were based on, our conclusions about the impact of psychological contract breaches on outcomes still remain tentative.

Overqualification influences employee silence behavior: Effects of psychological contract breach, work alienation, and justice sensitivity

Overqualification has become a widespread social phenomenon in many countries. We collected data from 503 respondents via an online survey and used SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.0 for data analysis. Results showed that employee overqualification had a significant positive impact on use of silence behavior and that psychological contract breach and alienation from work partially mediated this relationship. However, the serial mediating effect of psychological contract breach and alienation from work was not significant. Justice sensitivity played a moderating role in the relationship between employee overqualification and use of silence behavior. Our research clarifies the internal mechanism between overqualification and employee silence behavior and provides a reference for managers to optimize the employment environment and use of human resources.

Determinants of the Psychological Contract Breach of Academic Staff

The traditional model of a university is gradually being metamorphosed into a corporate model that brings forth certain problems, alongside numerous solutions. In such circumstances, establishing and maintaining a culture of trust is the foundation of constructing a positive psychological contract between the organization and its employees. In such circumstances, establishing and maintaining the culture of trust in the academy’s commitment to the traditionally defined mission of building and disseminating knowledge aimed at improving, training, and educating the most important potential of the society – people are the foundation of constructing a positive psychological contract between teachers and higher education institutions. The psychological contract represents mutual expectations that the parties in this relationship do not have to be fully aware of, but which, nevertheless, guide their mutual behavior. It is an implicit agreement between the academic staff and the higher education institution specifying what each party in this relationship expects to offer but also receives in return. Since research on psychological contracts in the academic work environment is very rare, and the concept itself is relatively new and unexplored in the Bosnian context in general, this paper first sought to determine which factors may be related to the violation of psychological contracts in the academic context. The results suggest that a lower organizational performance of the higher education organization, lower academic staff member performance, as well as a lower level of formalization of the process of organizational socialization of newly-hired academic staff, lead to a higher perceived psychological contract breach. Findings also suggest that the implicit communication of the mutual expectations between the faculty/academy and the academic staff leads to a greater perceived psychological contract breach. The paper offers certain recommendations to higher education institutions for the establishment and preservation of a positive psychological contract in the academic context and the prevention of avoidable psychological contract breaches.

Pengaruh Emotional Exhaustion terhadap Hubungan Antara Psychological Contract Breach dan Turnover Intention pada Karyawan Perusahaan Edukasi Digital di Jakarta

Changes, especially in the Postpandemic era, can bring new opportunities and problems to businesses and organizations. These changes can trigger Psychological Contract Breach, which if left unsolved can end up with Turnover Intention of employees. The presence of Emotional Exhaustion experienced can also worsen the situation at work. This study aims to analyze the effect of Emotional Exhaustion as an intervening variable on the relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Turnover Intention on employees of a digital education company in Jakarta. This study used a questionnaire survey to collect data to test research hypotheses. The type of research used is quantitative, with the PLS-Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The research sample selected using the purposive sampling method was 200 employees of a digital education company in Jakarta. Psychological contract breach on emotional exhaustion; emotional exhaustion on turnover intention; psychological contract breach on turnover intention ; psychological contract breach on turnover intention through emotional exhaustion.

The New and Key Roles for Psychological Contract Status and Engagement in Predicting Various Performance Behaviors of Nurses.

The study examines the impact of the psychological contract (PC), including the often-studied PC breach in addition to the novel approach of PC status, as predictors of performance among nurses, mediated by engagement, job satisfaction, and psychological distress. A sample of 177 nurses and midwives from a medium to a large hospital in Australia completed a self-report questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to determine associations between the predictors (i.e., negative affectivity (NA), PC breach, PC status)), mediating variables (i.e., engagement, job satisfaction, and psychological distress), and three types of performance behaviors: organizational citizenship behavior for the individual, for the organization (OCBI, OCBO) and in-role behavior (IRB) simultaneously. Specifically, psychological contract status positively predicted engagement, whereas breach negatively predicted engagement and positively predicted job satisfaction. NA positively predicted distress, and distress negatively predicted OCBO and IRB. Lastly, engagement positively predicted job satisfaction, OCBI, OCBO, and IRB. The findings indicate that psychological contract status may predict engagement (and in turn, performance) over and above psychological contract breach, and thus this novel construct should be examined further. The importance of engagement for predicting the performance behaviors and mental health of nurses may also offer new insights.

The State of the Psychological Contract, Justice and Engagement Drive Nurses' Performance Behaviors.

This paper investigates the links between the psychological contract and organizational justice variables on to performance behaviors through the mechanisms of engagement, job satisfaction and psychological distress, beyond the perception-oriented individual factor of negative affectivity. Nursing staff (n = 273) from a medium to large Australian hospital completed a self-report survey. Structural equation modeling found differential effects of psychological contract breach and psychological contract status, the mediating roles of engagement, job satisfaction and distress on to performance behaviors, while noting the role of individual negative affectivity. Engaging nurses is critical to both their in-role and discretionary performance behaviors. Reducing negative impacts, particularly those due to breaking promises and unfair processes, while protecting the nurses’ mental health, enables performance levels to be maintained. This study demonstrates that nurses’ general perceptions of their employment relationship impacted their in-role and discretionary performance behaviors, especially through the mechanism of engagement. The complexity of managing nurses is highlighted by those variables that enacted positive impacts via engagement as versus the variables that led to distress and acted as brakes on performance, as well as the impact of the negative affectivity trait of the nurses.

Applying Psychological Contract Theory to Link Customer Sexual Harassment to Work and Health-Related Outcomes.

Service workers often endure sexual harassment from customers in the course of performing their work duties. This article includes two studies based upon psychological contract theory. Customer sexual harassment (CSH) is posited as a psychological contract breach, which predicts an affective response (i.e., psychological contract violation), and in turn, work and health-related outcomes. Both studies tested models using samples of customer service women from various professions. Using path analysis, Study 1 found support for the proposed model, finding significant indirect effects between CSH and emotional exhaustion and affective commitment via psychological contract violation. Study 2 expanded upon the results, finding additional evidence of mediation for burnout (emotional exhaustion, cynicism, professional efficacy), affective commitment, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. This study adds to growing research highlighting the health and work-related costs of allowing CSH to persist. Results support the application of theory and raise concerns that organizations may be viewed as complicit in CSH, which in turn, is linked with health and job-related outcomes. Examining contract violation, a subjective appraisal of the organization, serves as a contribution to sexual harassment literature, which has focused on appraisal of the harassment itself and has not directly followed from theory. Future research could examine specifics regarding how harassment experiences might impact organizational perceptions via psychological contract theory. Drawing upon CSH and psychological contract literatures, approaches to prevention and intervention are discussed.

Psychological Contract and Employee Retention: The Role of HR

Understanding the individual and organizational consequences of breach of psychological contract justifies continuing research into the phenomenon. The global competition which has altered business environment has engineered the need for organizations to devise new ways to survive, enhance performance, retaining skilled employees and ensure healthy and progressive relationship between employers and their employees. Today, the biggest challenge that organizations are facing is not only managing its human resource but also retaining them. Securing and retaining skilled employees play an important role for any organization, because the knowledge and skills of employees have become highly important in gaining competitive advantage. It is against this backdrop that this paper explored the concepts of psychological contract and employee retention, the of impact psychological contract on employee retention and HR practices that influences the state or nature of the psychological contract and employee retention. The paper also peeps into the effect of covid-19 on psychological contract and employee retention. The paper adopted qualitative research design as it relies on secondary data collected from documentations through books, internet sources and journal articles and were content analyzed in relation to the scope of the study. The paper concludes that a significant important should be accorded to the informal contract of employment to ensure fulfillment of obligations and expectations to retain competent and skilled workforce. Thus, the paper recommends among others that Organizations should encourage flexible working arrangements such as telecommuting and prevent discrimination and exclusion relating to Covid-19 pandemic.

Psychological Contract and Employee Retention: The Role of HR

Understanding the individual and organizational consequences of breach of psychological contract justifies continuing research into the phenomenon. The global competition which has altered business environment has engineered the need for organizations to devise new ways to survive, enhance performance, retaining skilled employees and ensure healthy and progressive relationship between employers and their employees. Today, the biggest challenge that organizations are facing is not only managing its human resource but also retaining them. Securing and retaining skilled employees play an important role for any organization, because the knowledge and skills of employees have become highly important in gaining competitive advantage. It is against this backdrop that this paper explored the concepts of psychological contract and employee retention, the of impact psychological contract on employee retention and HR practices that influences the state or nature of the psychological contract and employee retention. The paper also peeps into the effect of covid-19 on psychological contract and employee retention. The paper adopted qualitative research design as it relies on secondary data collected from documentations through books, internet sources and journal articles and were content analyzed in relation to the scope of the study. The paper concludes that a significant important should be accorded to the informal contract of employment to ensure fulfillment of obligations and expectations to retain competent and skilled workforce. Thus, the paper recommends among others that Organizations should encourage flexible working arrangements such as telecommuting and prevent discrimination and exclusion relating to Covid-19 pandemic.