The psychological contracts of violation victims: A post‐violation model

Organizations may fail to keep their commitments to their employees, at times leading to psychological contract violation. Although many victims of violation remain with their employer despite such adverse experiences, little research exists on their responses in the aftermath of violation. This paper develops a post‐violation model to explain systematically how violation victims respond to and cope with violation and the effects this process has on their subsequent psychological contract. Central to post‐violation are the victims' beliefs regarding the likelihood of violation resolution and the factors affecting it. The model specifies how the victim engages in a self‐regulation process that results in an array of potential psychological contract outcomes. Possible outcomes include reactivation of the original pre‐violation contract, the formation of a new contract that may be more or less attractive than the original, or a state of dissolution wherein the victim fails to form a functional psychological contract with the employer. The research and practical implications of this model are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The nature of safety culture: a review of theory and research

This paper reviews the literature on safety culture and safety climate. The main emphasis is on applied research customary in the social psychological or organisational psychological traditions. Although safety culture and climate are generally acknowledged to be important concepts, not much consensus has been reached on the cause, the content and the consequences of safety culture and climate in the past 20 years. Moreover, there is an overall lack of models specifying either the relationship of both concepts with safety and risk management or with safety performance. In this paper, safety culture and climate will be differentiated according to a general framework based on work by Schein (1992 Schein) on organisational culture. This framework distinguishes three levels at which organisational culture can be studied — basis assumptions, espoused values and artefacts. At the level of espoused values we find attitudes, which are equated with safety climate. The basic assumptions, however, form the core of the culture. It is argued that these basic assumptions do not have to be specifically about safety, although it is considered a good sign if they are. It is concluded that safety climate might be considered an alternative safety performance indicator and that research should focus on its scientific validity. More important, however, is the assessment of an organisation's basic assumptions, since these are assumed to be explanatory to its attitudes.     

Assessing the nature of psychological contracts: a validation of six dimensions

The purpose of this study is to develop a feature‐oriented assessment of psychological contracts, an underdeveloped approach to psychological contracts. Relying on theoretical frameworks in psychological contract research, industrial relations studies, and a cross‐national study on psychological contracts, we identify six dimensions that capture the nature of psychological contracts: tangibility, scope, stability, time frame, exchange symmetry, and contract level. We validate this expanded conceptualization of psychological contracts by developing a nomological network and testing it in a large, representative sample of 1106 employees. The results indicate the significance of formal contract characteristics and HR practices as two antecedents shaping the nature of psychological contracts. In addition, the hypothesized relationships between the three dimensions of time frame, exchange symmetry, and contract level with affective commitment are confirmed as well as the relationships between tangibility, scope and flexibility with personal control. The results further indicate the importance of assessing both employer and employee obligations given the differential effect of the contract makers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactions to psychological contract breach: a dual perspective

This study examined reactions to psychological contract breach from two separate perspectives, that is, employee's reactions to perceptions of employer breach and supervisor's reactions to perceptions of employee breach of the psychological contract. In addition to the main effects, we also hypothesized that the benevolence (or kindness) of the supervisor and the traditional values (or respect for authority) of the employee would attenuate the negative effects of psychological contract breach. We tested these hypotheses with a sample of 273 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from the People's Republic of China. The results showed that employer breach correlated negatively with employee outcomes of organizational commitment (OC), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and work performance, but this negative relationship was weaker for employees with traditional values. The results also demonstrated that employee breach correlated negatively with responses from the supervisor, in terms of the mentoring provided to the employee and the leader‐member exchange (LMX) quality. However, more benevolent supervisors reacted less negatively in terms of the mentoring than did the less benevolent supervisors. Implications for future research are offered. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The more I want,the less I have left to give: The moderating role of psychological entitlement on the relationship between psychological contract violation,depressive mood states,and citizenship behavior

Research has emphasized the negative effects of organizations' broken promises and failed obligations on employee attitudes and behaviors. However, not all employees respond in the same manner. This paper integrates research on psychological contracts and psychological entitlement to examine how individuals with exceedingly high demands and expectations react to a perceived letdown by the organization. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we argue that a psychological contract violation is associated with employee depressive mood states, which, in turn, influence the amount of citizenship behavior displayed. We further posit that psychological entitlement moderates the link between contract violation and depressive mood states. Using Hayes' PROCESS macro to assess a moderated mediation model, findings from a multi‐source field study support our predictions. This research contributes to the work on psychological contracts and psychological entitlement on multiple fronts. Suggestions for future research and practical implications for managers are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managing employee perceptions of the psychological contract over time: the role of employer social accounts and contract fulfillment

This study proposed and tested relationships pertaining to employee perceptions of psychological contract type over time. Using a longitudinal design, we examined the mediated role that adequacy of social accounts and psychological contract fulfillment play in determining the development of contract perceptions. More specifically, our model posits that perceptions of contract type will influence employee perceptions of the adequacy of social accounts that are offered by the organization and its agents to explain job‐related decisions. These initial perceptions of social accounts at Time 1 were expected to impact perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment at Time 2 (6 months later) and psychological contract fulfillment was proposed to be positively associated with perceptions of a relational psychological contract. Results support the mediating roles of social accounts and psychological contract fulfillment in determining perceptions of contract type over time. Practical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relationships between psychological contract breach and employee well‐being and career‐related behavior: The role of occupational future time perspective

Relationships between psychological contract breach and employee well‐being and career‐related behavior cannot sufficiently be explained by social exchange and reciprocity theories, yet the alternative mechanisms underlying these associations are currently not well understood. Based on the psychological contract perspective on careers, the goal of this study was to examine indirect effects of psychological contract breach on emotional engagement, emotional exhaustion, and career‐related behavior through two dimensions of occupational future time perspective (i.e., focus on opportunities and focus on limitations). Data came from 405 employees in Australia, who responded to three surveys across 12 months. Results showed that psychological contract breach had indirect effects on emotional engagement and exhaustion through focus on opportunities and focus on limitations, respectively, and on career‐related behavior through focus on opportunities. Another mechanism, psychological contract violation, was only related to employees' organizational deviance. These findings highlight the important role of occupational future time perspective dimensions as employees' evaluations of future career‐related opportunities and limitations. These evaluations may change in response to psychological contract breach and, in turn, might impact on employee well‐being and career‐related behavior.     

A multi‐level investigation of psychological contract breach and organizational identification through the lens of perceived organizational membership: Testing a moderated–mediated model

Drawing on the perceived organizational membership theoretical framework and the social identity view of dissonance theory, I examined in this study the dynamics of the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification. I included group‐level transformational and transactional leadership as well as procedural justice in the hypothesized model as key antecedents for organizational membership processes. I further explored the mediating role of psychological contract breach in the relationship between leadership, procedural justice climate, and organizational identification and proposed separateness–connectedness self‐schema as an important moderator of the above mediated relationship. Hierarchical linear modeling results from a sample of 864 employees from 162 work units in 10 Greek organizations indicated that employees' perception of psychological contract breach negatively affected their organizational identification. I also found psychological contract breach to mediate the impact of transformational and transactional leadership on organizational identification. Results further provided support for moderated mediation and showed that the indirect effects of transformational and transactional leadership on identification through psychological contract breach were stronger for employees with a low connectedness self‐schema. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age,work experience,and the psychological contract

The purpose of the current paper is to examine the ways in which age and work experience shape how individuals experience psychological contract breaches. We first introduce the concepts of contract malleability (the degree to which individuals can tolerate deviations from contract expectations) and contract replicability (the degree to which individuals believe that their psychological contracts can be replicated elsewhere). Next, we discuss the variety of reasons why contract malleability and replicability become greater with age and work experience and how contract malleability and replicability may temper negative reactions to psychological contract breaches. We also address the different ways contract malleability and replicability mediate the relationships between age and work experience, on one hand, and exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect behaviors on the other. We consider the moderating effects of age similarity and dissimilarity here as well. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research designs and for managing older and more experienced workers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Between a rock and a hard place: Accident and near-miss reporting on offshore service vessels

Reporting accidents and near misses is an important aspect of safety management. This study explores reporting in contract work, exemplified by offshore service vessels, and the associations with external and internal organisational factors. The empirical foundation for the study is a questionnaire survey (N = 1108). Reporting was negatively related to high efficiency demands from external actors and low quality of feedback to the reporting community. These factors were more strongly related to reporting than internal factors within the safety climate construct. Short-term contract engagement was also negatively associated with reporting. The results could reflect the organisational complexity that characterises much contract work. The study implies that attempts to increase the level of reporting in contract work should not be limited to focusing on internal organisational factors. Framework conditions and signals from external actors regarding the actual priority accorded to safety should also be considered.     

Re‐examining the effects of psychological contract violations: unmet expectations and job dissatisfaction as mediators

This research examines whether the relationships between psychological contract violations and three types of employee behavior (intention to quit, neglect of in‐role job duties, and organizational citizenship behaviors) are mediated by unmet expectations and job dissatisfaction. Using a sample of over 800 managers from a wide variety of research sites, this study tests for mediator effects using both hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modelling. The results suggest that unmet expectations and job dissatisfaction do partially mediate such relationships. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A psychological contract perspective on organizational citizenship behavior

This study examined the contribution of the psychological contract framework to understanding organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) using survey data gathered at three measurement points over a three‐year period from 480 public sector employees. Separating perceived contract breach into its two components (perceived employer obligations and inducements), the data suggest that perceived employer obligations explained unique variance in three dimensions of citizenship behavior (helping, advocacy and functional participation) beyond that accounted for by perceived employer inducements. Employees' acceptance of the norm of reciprocity moderated the relationship between employer inducements and the dimensions of advocacy and functional participation. Employees' trust in their employer moderated the relationship between perceived employer obligations and the dimensions of advocacy and functional participation. Contrary to the hypothesis, procedural or interactional justice did not moderate the relationship between employer inducements and OCB. The implications of the findings for psychological contract research are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于心理契约的煤炭企业员工安全感的培育

分析心理契约与安全感内涵,进一步探讨煤矿企业员工心理契约形成过程及其与安全感之间的关系模型,指出心理契约是影响员工安全感的重要因素。根据心理契约的动态发展特性,提出煤矿企业员工安全感3阶段培育策略。指出通过生产设备本质安全化、健全安全管理制度,安全行为矫正与安全心理培训等手段建立良性互动的心理契约,是培养煤炭企业员工安全感的重要途径。研究表明:在煤炭企业内部建立有效的沟通平台可以强化企业与员工之间的心理约束,提高员工的心理承受能力和风险干预能力,进而增强煤炭企业员工的安全感。研究的思路和方法为煤炭企业的安全管理提供了一种全新的视角,对遏止煤矿重大事故具有重要意义。     

Managing the career deal: the psychological contract as a framework for understanding career management,organizational commitment and work behavior

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated the relationship between different kinds of career management activities, the psychological contract, and outcomes of psychological contract fulfillment. The study tested a series of linked hypotheses which propose that individual career management behavior is associated with the experience of organizational career management help, which is related to fulfillment of the psychological contract. Fulfillment of the psychological contract in turn is linked to organizational commitment and is associated with behaviors at work, including absenteeism, turnover, and independent ratings of job performance. The findings provide some support for these proposed links. As a result, the paper makes four contributions to the psychological contract and careers literature: first, it shows that both individual and organizational career management behaviors are linked to psychological contract fulfillment; second, organizational career management help is associated with affective commitment and job performance; third, psychological contract fulfillment plays a key role in mediating the relationship between career management help and such attitudes and behaviors; and fourth, organizational commitment may mediate between psychological contract fulfillment and individual career management behavior aimed at furthering the career outside the organization. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development and validation of a psychological contract of safety scale

Introduction

This paper builds on previous research by the author and describes the development and validation of a new measure of the psychological contract of safety. The psychological contract of safety is defined as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit and explicit promises.

Method

A psychological contract is established when an individual believes that perceived employer and employee safety obligations are contingent on each other. A pilot test of the measure is first undertaken with participants from three different occupations: nurses, construction workers, and meat processing workers (N = 99). Item analysis is used to refine the measure and provide initial validation of the scale. A larger validation study is then conducted with a participant sample of health care workers (N = 424) to further refine the measure and to determine the psychometric properties of the scale.

Results

Item and correlational analyses produced the final employer and employee obligations scales, consisting of 21 and 17 items, respectively. Factor analyses identified two underlying dimensions in each scale comparable to that previously established in the organizational literature. These transactional and relational-type obligations provided construct validity of the scale. Internal consistency ratings using Cronbach's alpha found the components of the psychological contract of safety measure to be reliable.

Impact on Industry

The refined and validated psychological contract of safety measure will allow investigation of the positive and negative outcomes associated with fulfilment and breach of the psychological contract of safety in future research.     

The development of psychological contract breach and violation: a longitudinal study

This study examines factors affecting employees' perceptions that their psychological contract has been breached by their organization, and factors affecting whether this perception will cause employees to experience feelings of contract violation. Data were obtained from 147 managers just prior to their beginning of new job (time 1) and 18 months later (time 2). It was found that perceived contract breach at time 2 was more likely when organizational performance and self‐reported employee performance were low, the employee had not experienced a formal socialization process, the employee had little interaction with organizational agents prior to hire, the employee had a history of psychological contract breach with former employers, and the employee had many employment alternatives at the time of hire. Furthermore, perceived breach was associated with more intense feelings of violation when employees both attributed the breach to purposeful reneging by the employer and felt unfairly treated in the process. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A daily diary study of affective responses to psychological contract breach and exceeded promises

The psychological contract has been viewed as an explanatory framework for understanding the employment relationship, and is regarded by some researchers as central in understanding employee attitudes and behavior. Despite the importance ascribed to the psychological contract, it remains theoretically underdeveloped and has received limited empirical attention. This study takes a new approach to researching the psychological contract, through the use of daily diaries, and addresses a number of fundamental questions regarding its nature. Results show that both broken and exceeded promises occur regularly and in relation to virtually any aspect of work, that the importance of the promise contributes significantly to emotional reactions following broken and exceeded promises, and that the psychological contract is an important concept for understanding everyday fluctuations in emotion and daily mood. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can focus on safety culture become an excuse for not rethinking design of technology?

Two generic organisational contexts associated with technological designs in relation to safety culture are discussed: (1) operating organisations using existing technologies, and (2) design organisations as producers of technologies. It is argued that the concept of safety culture, if misused, may lead to the adoption of non-effective change strategies in the operational context. On the other hand, it is also argued that design organisations should invest more attention to issues commonly subsumed under the concept of safety culture. In this case, however, the concept of safety culture has to be adapted to fit the demands facing design organisations. Issues of morality and their association with the safety culture concept will be discussed. It is suggested that a stronger focus on understanding innovation and safety together should nourish future research about culture’s influence on design and safety.     

Outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety

IntroductionThe study investigated the outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety.MethodThe psychological contract of safety is defined as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal employer and employee safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. When employees perceive that safety obligations promised by the employer have not been met, a breach of the psychological contract occurs, termed employer breach of obligations. The extent to which employees fulfill their safety obligations to the employer is termed employee fulfillment of obligations. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of safety that investigated the positive and negative outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety. Participants were 424 health care workers recruited from two hospitals in the State of Victoria, Australia.ResultsFollowing slight modification of the hypothesized model, a good fitting model resulted. Being injured in the workplace was found to lower perceptions of trust in the employer and increase perceptions of employer breach of safety obligations. Trust in the employer significantly influenced perceived employer breach of safety obligations such that lowered trust resulted in higher perceptions of breach. Perceptions of employer breach significantly impacted employee fulfillment of safety obligations with high perceptions of breach resulting in low employee fulfillment of obligations. Trust and perceptions of breach significantly influenced safety attitudes, but not safety behavior. Fulfillment of employee safety obligations significantly impacted safety behavior, but not safety attitudes. Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are explored. A positive emphasis on social exchange relationships in organizations will have positive outcomes for safety climate and safety behavior.     

Reciprocation wary employees discount psychological contract fulfillment

The present study examined the moderating role of reciprocation wariness in the association of employees' psychological contract fulfillment with psychosomatic strain and voluntary turnover, as mediated by perceived organizational support. To study these relationships longitudinally, 169 graduating college seniors were surveyed upon job acceptance and again 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 18 months following the start of employment. The findings showed that psychological contract fulfillment was positively related to perceived organizational support. However, this positive relationship was eliminated by reciprocation wariness, and this influence was carried over to psychosomatic strain and voluntary turnover. Thus, it appears that reciprocation wariness leads employees to discount psychological contract fulfillment as an indication of the organization's valuation and caring. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.