TowardsaDynamicModelofthePsychologicalContract.docVIP

Towards a Dynamic Model of the Psychological Contract The term psychological contract emerged in the literature about forty-five years ago; it refers to a concept that captures implicit ideas about the employee-organization relationship. The term was first used in the context of work organizations by Argyris in 1960, as a footnote in Understanding Organizational Behavior (Argyris, 1960). Levinson, Price, Munden, Mandl, and Solley (1962) elaborate the concept in a case study of a utility company. Levinson and colleagues applied Menninger’s (1958) concept of the “psychotherapy contract,” which ascribes the intangible aspects of the contractual relationship that exists between psychoanalysts and patients, to the work setting. They define the psychological contract, or “unwritten contract,” as the sum of all mutual expectations between the organization and the employee. It includes what both parties are entitled to receive and what each is obliged to provide to the other. The underlying idea is that an exchange relationship exists between the organization and the worker, as previously conceptualized by Barnard and Simon and elaborated in equity theory and social exchange theory (Homans, 1961; Adams, 1965). Levinson and colleagues pointed out that psychological contracts are largely implicit and unspoken, and they frequently antedate the formal relationship between a person and an organization. Some of the expectations (e.g., regarding salary and workload) concern concrete issues, but others are related to less tangible matters (e.g., dignity at work, opportunity for growth, and a sense of being cared for by the organization), which are revealed only indirectly. Nonetheless, all of these expectations are assumed to determine the relationship between the organization and the employee. In this conceptualization, the psychological contract binds together individuals and organizations (Herriot Pemberton, 1995). It makes their actions predictable and helps them to real