Perceived psychological contract violation
Encyclopedia
Perceived psychological contract violation (PPCV) is a construct that regards employees’ feelings of disappointment (ranging from minor frustration
to betrayal
) arising from their belief that their organization has broken its work-related promises (Morrison & Robinson, 1997), and is generally thought to be the organization’s contribution to a negative reciprocity dynamic, as employees tend to perform more poorly to pay back PPCV (Robinson, 1996; Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994; Turnley & Feldman, 1999).
(POS) are based on the Norm of reciprocity
. Both POS and PPCV are types of social exchange and therefore involve implicit obligations, rather than economic exchange, which involve explicit obligations (Blau, 1964; Emerson, 1972). POS is focused on favorable treatment and the degree to which employees engage in positive reciprocity with the organization, whereas PPCV is focused on unfavorable treatment and the degree to which employees engage in negative reciprocity with the organization.
and colleagues (2009) found that professional employees (e.g. doctors, nurses, lawyers) were less likely to reciprocate PPCV when they strongly identified with the organization and weakly identified with the profession. Indeed, such workers' organizational identification
and professional identification
combined to alter the influence of PPCV on performance behaviors. The results suggested that PPCV had the most negative influence on professional employees' work performance when employees strongly identified with the profession and weakly identified with the organization.
1. I feel a great deal of anger toward my organization.
2. I feel betrayed by my organization.
3. I feel that my organization has violated the contract between us.
4. I feel extremely frustrated by how I have been treated by my organization.
These "contract breach" items are less commonly used:
1. Almost all the promises made by my organization during my recruitment have been kept so far.
2. I feel that my organization has come through in fulfilling the promises made to me when I was hired.
3. So far my organization has done an excellent job of fulfilling its promises to me.
4. I have not received everything promised to me in exchange for my contributions.
5. My organization has broken many of its promises to me even though I've upheld my side of the deal.
Frustration
This article concerns the field of psychology. The term frustration does, however, also concern physics. In this context, the term is treated in a different article, geometric frustration....
to betrayal
Betrayal
Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations...
) arising from their belief that their organization has broken its work-related promises (Morrison & Robinson, 1997), and is generally thought to be the organization’s contribution to a negative reciprocity dynamic, as employees tend to perform more poorly to pay back PPCV (Robinson, 1996; Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994; Turnley & Feldman, 1999).
Differentiation from Perceived organizational support
Both PPCV and Perceived organizational supportPerceived organizational support
Perceived Organizational Support is the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being ....
(POS) are based on the Norm of reciprocity
Norm of reciprocity
The norm of reciprocity is the social expectation that people will respond to each other in kind—returning benefits for benefits, and responding with either indifference or hostility to harms. The social norm of reciprocity often takes different forms in different areas of social life, or in...
. Both POS and PPCV are types of social exchange and therefore involve implicit obligations, rather than economic exchange, which involve explicit obligations (Blau, 1964; Emerson, 1972). POS is focused on favorable treatment and the degree to which employees engage in positive reciprocity with the organization, whereas PPCV is focused on unfavorable treatment and the degree to which employees engage in negative reciprocity with the organization.
Recent research
David R. HekmanDavid R. Hekman
David R. Hekman is an assistant professor of management at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.- Early life and education :A Michigan native, Hekman received his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2000 at Grand Valley State University, where he was voted "Outstanding Finance Student of the...
and colleagues (2009) found that professional employees (e.g. doctors, nurses, lawyers) were less likely to reciprocate PPCV when they strongly identified with the organization and weakly identified with the profession. Indeed, such workers' organizational identification
Organizational identification
-Definitions of Identification and Organizational Identification:Phillip Tompkins one was of the first to use the phrase 'organizational identification' and is a pioneer in the study of organizational communication . Simon has also been given credit for establishing organizational identification...
and professional identification
Professional identification
Professional Identification is a type of social identification and is the sense of oneness individuals have with a profession and the degree to which individuals define themselves as profession members....
combined to alter the influence of PPCV on performance behaviors. The results suggested that PPCV had the most negative influence on professional employees' work performance when employees strongly identified with the profession and weakly identified with the organization.
Measurement Items
PPCV is typically measured with the four-item PPCV scale used by Hekman et al. (2009).Respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with the following statements on a seven-point scale.1. I feel a great deal of anger toward my organization.
2. I feel betrayed by my organization.
3. I feel that my organization has violated the contract between us.
4. I feel extremely frustrated by how I have been treated by my organization.
These "contract breach" items are less commonly used:
1. Almost all the promises made by my organization during my recruitment have been kept so far.
2. I feel that my organization has come through in fulfilling the promises made to me when I was hired.
3. So far my organization has done an excellent job of fulfilling its promises to me.
4. I have not received everything promised to me in exchange for my contributions.
5. My organization has broken many of its promises to me even though I've upheld my side of the deal.
See also
- Emotional exhaustionEmotional exhaustionEmotional exhaustion is a chronic state of physical and emotional depletion that results from excessive job demands and continuous stress. It describes a feeling of being emotionally overextended and exhausted by one's work...
- Misplaced loyaltyMisplaced loyaltyMisplaced loyalty is loyalty placed in other persons or organisations where that loyalty is not acknowledged or respected; is betrayed or taken advantage of...
- Perceived organizational support Perceived organizational supportPerceived Organizational Support is the degree to which employees believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being ....
- StressStress (biology)Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...