L14 - Org Psych - psychological contract

Question 1

What is the psychological contract?

Answer 1

An implied relationship between the employer and employee based on mutual contribution and assumptions

an unwritten and implied exchange - each party assumes the other party has made promises that haven’t been explicitly stated

Question 2

an employee assuming job security or promotion in return for hard
work and loyalty (whether the employer believes this or not)

what is this an example of

Answer 2

a psychological contract

an implied contact

Question 3

Does the employer and the employee need to agree for there to be a psychological contract?

Answer 3

No - it is all implied and therefore there could be different assumptions of what is expected of the other party

Question 4

What are the 2 ways in which the psychological contract is used to explain employee behaviour?

(Muchinsky, 2016)

Answer 4

1) how reciprocal promises oblige employee behaviour (to do things for their employer)

2) how employees react when they believe promises made are broken

Question 5

Rousseau and Parkes (1993) said that

_____ itself is perceived as a promise and an employee’s performance is perceived as a contribution

this is an example of:

Answer 5

employment

example of the psychological contract

Question 6

Generally, the power is typically seen as being in the hands of the ______

Answer 6

employer

Question 7

What impact does the employer having more power over the employee have over the terms of the psychological contract

Answer 7

The terms of the contract seem to be dictated by the employer

Employee has to accept what they get or they have to leave - limited things they can do if there is violations

Question 8

When does the violation of the psychological contract happen?

Answer 8

when one party in a relationship perceives another as failing to fulfil promised obligations

e.g. lack of security or no promotion after working hard

Question 9

“I perceived a promise that I had a good chance of promotion to manager in one year. While I received excellent performance ratings, I was not promoted after 12 months ..”

What is this an example of?

Answer 9

Violation of the psychological contract

Question 10

Violations of the psychological contract by an employer may have what impact on the beliefs of the employee towards the organisation?

Answer 10

what they feel they are owed

what they feel they are obliged to give back

they are seen to undermine trust that led to the emergence of the relationship (integrity of employer is questioned)

Question 11

What has violations of the psychological contract been shown to lead influence?

Answer 11

negatively influence employee’s trust, job satisfaction, intent to remain with the organization, commitment and performance

Question 12

Research has shown that following a violation, psychological contracts tend to become more 1)_________ and less 2)_________

What does this mean?

Answer 12

1. transactional
2. relational

Focus is less on the relationship (emotional aspects of the work) with the company and more on just doing what you are paid to do (focus on monetary benefits of their work)

Question 13

What are the 5 steps of action done by the employee that tend to follow a violation of the psychological contract by the employer (and if it is not rectified)?

Answer 13

1. Employee voices concern over violation and seeks to re-instate the contract
2. If unsuccessful, voice is followed by silence
3. This is followed by retreat
4. Then sabotage may occur
5. Exit / dismissal

Question 14

Why are employees generally reluctant to use a formal complaint?

Answer 14

Fear of retaliation or being seen as a troublemaker by the employer

confrontation is typically done outside of formal channels

Question 15

Greenberg found what in regard to reactions that factory employees had when they received a reduction in pay?

Answer 15

one factories workers were told that they would be recieving a decrease in pay, but they were given the reason why and given an explanation

another had a deduction of pay but no reason

reason = accepted a decrease in pay without incident

no reason why = reacted with resentment, reaction and acts of theft

Question 16

Greenburgs research suggests that _______ is very important to keep the relationship between employees and employers in tact and keep up job satisfaction and productivity

Answer 16

communication

Question 17

What has been argued that more research needs to be done on, in regards to the psychological contract?

3 things

Answer 17

– How it is seen from the employer’ s side

– What happens when the contract is kept?

– If violated, to what extent can it be repaired?

Question 18

Work/family conflict can also be called

Answer 18

Work-life balance

Question 19

What is work/family conflict?

Answer 19

Managing your work with life outside of work

Question 20

What is the theoretical basis behing the work/family conflict?

explain it

Answer 20

The scarcity hypothesis

It suggests we have a finite amount of time, energy and attention (resources). When too much of one resource is located to one domain, the other suffers.

The result is work family conflict.

Question 21

What impact does a poor work-family balance have on a persons wellbeing?

Answer 21

Negative impact on one’s psychological and physical health

Question 22

How much more likely is someone to report clinically significant mental health issues if they have a poor work-family balance in comparison to someone who has a good work-family balance?

Answer 22

30x more likely to experience clinically significant mental health issues

Question 23

What family factors can influence the work life balance?

Answer 23

Family illness, Family death, Have a Child, Large life changing events etc.

Question 24

What are the 3 types of stress reactions that can happen to an individual who has a poor work-family balance?

Answer 24

Physical

Affective

Behavioural

Question 25

What are the two lengths of stress reactions that can happen to an individual with a poor work-family balance?

Answer 25

Short-Term Reactions

Long-Term Reactions

Question 26

Disturbed mood, psychological reactions, cognitive reactions, increased effort, accidents, performance decrease

What type of stress reaction are these?

Answer 26

Short-Term stress reactions experienced by the individual

Question 27

How can short term and long term stress reactions influence the organisation?

Answer 27

Short-term: interpersonal conflicts

Long-term: increased turnover and absence rates

Question 28

What impact can short-term and long-term stress reactions that are due to work have when not at work (i.e. at home)

Answer 28

Short term: slow unwinding, spillover of disturbed mood to private life

Long term: poor well-being in other life domains, physical illness

Question 29

Name the 3 basic models of the work/non-work relationship

Answer 29

1. Spill-over model

2. Compensation model

3. Segmentation model

Question 30

Describe the spill-over model of the work-life relationship (work/non-work relationship)

Answer 30

In which there is assumed to be a similarity between what occurs at work and at home

there is positive spillover and negative spillover

• if you are performing well at work, you are better at home*
• negative feelings towards work, negative feelings at home etc.*

Question 31

Describe the Compensation Model of the work-life relationship (work/non-work relationship)

Answer 31

Where what is lost in one is made up in the other

• deprevations at work are compensated for at home*
• if things aren’t going well at work, you find relief in your social work to improve the feelings*

Question 32

Describe the Segmentation Model of the work-life relationship (work/non-work relationship)

Answer 32

Assumed that the two areas are distinct and do not influence each other

if you are stressed at work, it wont impact your private life

Question 33

Empirical tests have revealed support for which work/non-work relationship models?

Answer 33

Some for each model, however they need additional refinement

They can apply to each individual at different times of their lives

Question 34

What is the concept of flexible work options?

Answer 34

Flexible work arrangements allows better control about where and when work is performed

including days worked, shifts work per week, hours worked, where they work

Question 35

Are high or low skilled workers more likely to have flexible work arrangements?

Answer 35

High skilled workers

low level employees need to accept shift work without options, CEOs and managers more likely to have a flexible work environment

Question 36

“Work is viewed as something that gets done, not a place” (Allen, 2010)

This is an example of?

Answer 36

Flexible work arrangements

Question 37

Most flexible work arrangements today are _____ based

Answer 37

technology

(laptops, tablets, cell phones allow work to be done using technology)

Question 38

What is a teleworker?

Answer 38

a person who works outside the traditional physical work location using technology

also referred to as a telecommuter

Question 39

What is a “flexiplace”?

Answer 39

any location eg home, café, or holiday location where work is performed

Question 40

What is “flexitime”?

Answer 40

a schedule of work that permits flexibility in when one arrives and leaves work

Question 41

Being able to be a telecommuter can lead to an increase in

Answer 41

job satisfaction and an increase feeling of autonomy and productivity

Question 42

What is the possible downside of being a teleworker?

Answer 42

It can lead to longer workdays

It can isolate employees

if you’re working at home, means that its harder to seperate work commitments from non-work commitments

Question 43

What type of work environment is best to help accommodate the work-life balance?

Answer 43

Flexible work environment

e.g. teleworker, flexiplace, flexitime

Question 44

What did Finland do in 2019 to try to accommodate for the changing workforce and help work-life balance?

Answer 44

Introduce legislation that will allow employees greater freedom over where and when they work.

Question 45

What elements were added in the Finland legislation that are intended to make worklife more flexible?

Answer 45

New elements of flexibility include the following

1. Flexitime limits

2. Flexibile working time (employee can determine the place and location of half of their working hours - good for health and welfare and productivity)

3. Working hours banks (primarily employees responsibility - enable employees to save their time)

4. Night work (they can work at night if they want to)