Ultimately, the psychological contract is the responsibility of both the employee and the employer. The two have different responsibilities to protect against potential violations. For the employer, it is a question of ensuring that he does not transmit the wrong perception to an employee and that the promises are kept. For the employee, it is a question of managing his expectations in such a way that difficult situations or adverse personal circumstances are not considered a negative impact on productivity and are not considered a „temporary” employee. The psychological contract changes over time. As an employee`s level of work changes as they progress in their career, so does the psychological contract that was established at the beginning of their career. When an employee is promoted throughout his career, he expects more from his psychological contract because he puts more of themselves in his work. Each stage of a career creates another process for processing the contract. Phases include learning, colleague, mentor, sponsor, exploration, installation, maintenance and retirement. [14] The details of each step are as follows: RUOKOLAINEN, M., MAUNO, S., DIEHL, M-R., TOLVANEN, A., MAKIKANGAS, A.

and KINNUNEN, U. (2018) Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university employees. International Journal of Human Resources Management. Volume 29, No. 19, pp. 2827-2850. Want to know more about the pros and cons of the psychological contract? Click here! It is important for employers to understand that what constitutes a balanced psychological contract varies from employee to employee and that it will also change – crucially – over time. When psychological contracts are flexible, up-to-date and honest, there are (should) positive results. The psychological contract is different from a legal employment contract, which provides a limited reality of the employment relationship. The legal contract refers to an agreement, usually written and sung, about the mutual obligations of the employer and the employee. The psychological contract, on the other hand, describes how the parties themselves understand their relationship, their own views on the commitment, and what they can expect in return. The psychological contract is usually unenforceable.

However, courts can be influenced by taking into account the underlying relationship between employer and employee, for example when interpreting the usual duty to show mutual trust. Over the past thirty years, the psychological contract between employer and employee has changed due to globalization and great technological advances. Many employees change jobs faster and the demonstration of an organization`s commitment to a lifelong career has decreased. This QC file focuses on the notion of psychological contracts and raises several important questions. When it comes to how an employee acts, works and behaves, the perceived fairness of the psychological contract they have with their employer has much more impact. The concept of the psychological contract was originally developed by Denise Rousseau. Rousseau is a professor of organizational behavior and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. CONWAY, N.

and BRINER, R. (2005) Understanding psychological contracts at work: a critical evaluation of theory and research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. When managed effectively, the relationship fosters mutual trust between the parties and aligns the organization`s goals and commitments with those of its employees. But a negative psychological contract can cause employees to become disillusioned, demotivated, and angry at authoritarianism within the organization. This will lead to an increasingly inefficient workforce whose goals no longer match the organization they work for. The main cause of disappointment is usually that middle management protects their status and safety in the eyes of their superiors, which can lead to conflicts of interest if they have to fulfill their obligations to their subordinates. How to deal with psychological contract violations and dissent Without effective mutual conversation, the contract between employee and employer (or even employee and employee) can become unbalanced and a „breach” can occur. Violations and how they occur will be discussed later in the article.

In this way, the psychological contract helps to promote positive organizational behavior and plays an important role in increasing performance and productivity. A psychological contract between an employee and an employer works in the same way – for this relationship to thrive in the long run, both parties must feel that it is balanced and that its contribution is fair. More and more people are also working in self-employment or remotely. This means that there is an increased need for flexibility. Today`s working relationship is much more individual than when Rousseau originally conceived the psychological contract. The psychological contract is very different from a contract or physical document – it represents the term „relationship” or „trust” or „understanding” that may exist for one or more employees, rather than a tangible or legal document that may vary from one employee to another. .