Page 1 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 04 Issue 05

April 2018

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 262

Psychological contract breach and workplace outcome: Unmeet Expectations

of an Employee.

Saroj Kumar Ranjan (2014phdmba03@curaj.ac.in)

Ph.D. Research Scholar, Central university of Rajasthan

Abstract: Psychological contract is individual beliefs in reciprocal obligations between

employees and employers. Psychological contract is a state of situation in which a special type of

bond creates between employees and organization which is not written as a record or committed

by organization. This research paper is based on the review of previous research which done on

psychological contract breach and work place outcome. The Relation between employees and

organization depends on what they offered and what they get. The aim of this theoretical

research paper is to find that how perceived organizational support, organizational culture

behavior and psychological contract moderate the psychological contract breach, the relationship

between employees and organization and also work place outcome. Outcomes of this paper is

that there is a negative relationship between the psychological contract breach and work place

outcome. Perceived organizational support, organizational citizenship behavior act as a

moderator and give a positive effect on work place outcome.

Key words: psychological contract breach, transactional, relational contract, organizational

citizenship behavior, perceived organizational support.

Introduction

The psychological contract is a progressively significant characteristic of workplace relationship

and broader human behavior. The term psychological contract was first emerged in the 1960’s

remarkably in the work of organizational and behavior theorists Chris Argyris and Edgar. Mainly

psychological contract states the relationship between employer and its employees and explicitly

anxieties common prospects of inputs and outcomes. As Rousseau (1989) contends, this contract

Page 2 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 04 Issue 05

April 2018

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 263

becomes an essential element to the relationship between the employee and the organization

because it affects employee job outcomes. Intense research showed that psychological contract

can be framed into two diverse habits .i.e. transactional and relational. A transactional contract

based on financial or economical support. It is short-term in nature. In general, employees whose

psychological contracts are portrayed as transactional base their contracts on financial rewards,

money, and being paid on time (Bellou, 2009; De Cuyper & De Witte, 2006; De Hauw & De

Vos, 2010). Where, as employees having in relational psychological contract, they trust in

relationship with their organization rather than financial exchange. A relational psychological

contract is open-ended, indefinite, dynamic, and has a broad scope (De Cuyper & De Witte,

2006; Rousseau, 1990).

But when there is a relationship some conflict will also exists and this conflict termed as

“psychological contract breach”. It is a violation of psychological contract between employee’s

and employer. First we have to explore that how violation of psychological contract affect the

relationship between employee and employer and also how its affect the workplace outcome.

Psychological contract breach is a vice-versa phenomenon in which employee and organization

both are unsatisfied with each other. When an employee enters into an organization he has lots of

expectations with organization and the organization have also the same. A psychological contract

breach is defined as an employee’s perception that his or her organization has failed to fulfill one

or more obligations associated with perceived mutual promises (Gakovic & Tetrick, 2003).

Psychological contract breach can change the behavioral effect of employees. Employees get

unsatisfied and fell that their effort towards work is not fruit full. After a psychological contract

breach, employees may be less willing to extra effort on behalf of the organization and have a

lower desire to remain employees of their organization (De Hauw & De Vos, 2010).

Review of Literature

The review of this research paper is based on how the perceived organizational support, job

satisfaction, organization commitment, work engagement, intention to leave, can affect the

commitment between employee and organization.

Page 3 of 12

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 04 Issue 05

April 2018

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 264

Ainul Abu Kabar and Betsy Barrett (2010). This research founds that psychological contract

breach can affect job satisfaction. Employers and the management should be aware of the

psychological contract and how its violation may affect employees. After recruitment and new

employee orientation, employers should be aware of what they explicitly or implicitly promise

and emphasize the promises or obligations that they can fulfill. In which this study included

meaningful work, opportunity for personal growth, continual professional training, challenging

and interesting work, flexible work schedule, and a safe work environment.

In the 21st century aging population, Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) will

become primary needs of employee’s and it is Imperious that they continue their workforce.

Violation of the psychological contract between employee and organization can lead to job

dissatisfaction, lowered organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and intent to leave.

Communication plays an important role in ensuring that there is no formation of grievance

between employees and organization. This can increase the job satisfaction and reduce the

chance of job intent to leave. Vincent Cassar, Rob B. Briner (2010) thesis tested the mediating

role of violation in the relationship between breach and both affective and continuance

commitment. This study finds that the relationship between breach and commitment mediated by

the violation of psychological contract. Moderation of mediating pathway imbalances the

perceived exchange. Mediating role of violation increased by low imbalance perceived exchange

in the case of effective commitment, where as in the case of continuance commitment the

violation of moderating the mediating influence failed in perceived exchange imbalance.

Psychological contract Violation, Psychological contract breach, Affective Continuance

commitment are the variables which used in this research and after analysis we get that Breach

and violation both predicted commitment although violation mediated the relationship between

breach and commitment, at least partially. Su-Fen Chiu (2008), this research preserved

psychological contract breach as a latent collective build. This study finds the essential effects

and the collaborating properties of psychological contract breach and hostile attributional grace

on employee deviance .i.e., interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance. Interpersonal

and Organizational deviance positively related with psychological contract breach. Interpersonal

deviance strongly effected by psychological contract breach rather than organizational deviance.