Get It In Writing

The changing demands made on businesses and some HRM practices applied in recent years as a result, such as delayering and downsizing, have left many people feeling their 'psychological contract' has been broken. Where the psychological contract had been a motivating factor a sense of injustice can often lead to the zeal and enthusiasm and perseverance being replaced by a reduction in effort for the company.

The psychological contract is the belief of an individual of the terms and conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement between the focal person and another party, that some form of promise has been made and that the terms and conditions of the agreement have been accepted by both parties (Robinson and Rousseau, 1994). The employee may not even be aware of the terms of the psychological contract but they still affect behaviour. In fact, employees should receive a written statement of terms and conditions confirming the agreement within a certain time period of starting the job (Stone, 1998). It is better to have it in writing. Having an agreement in writing gives a sense of safety and encouragement.

Some details of pay and conditions that might once have been covered by an employment contract are now covered by statute and European law. The EU Working Time Directive tells us about hours of work, rest and breaks and so on. These written forms act as a anchor for both employees and many employers. They are something both parties can constantly refer back to in any dispute.

The informal, unwritten understanding between employer and employee is the agreement the employees think they have in terms of what they will contribute and what is expected of them. It is a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the relationship. It covers a range of rights and privileges, duties and obligations which although they have not been formalised exert an influence over the people's behaviour (Schein, 1988, Mullins, 1999). In recent years certain trends have changed the careers landscape for the worse. The contract many employees thought they had with their employers turned out to be worth less than the paper it wasn't written on. They changed the employment relationship and the existing or old psychological contract.

The old psychological contract was concerned with a long-term relationship based on trust and respect. The employee offered loyalty, conformity, commitment and trust in return for security of employment, good prospects, training and development with a certain amount of flexibility. The new contract is imposed rather than agreed, transactional rather than relational, short-term rather than long-term. It involves longer hours, more skills, tolerance of changes, more respnsibility having to be offered for high pay for some, rewards for good performance and a job (Arnold, Cooper and Robinson, 1998).

Many employees feel their psychological contract has been violated. The violations most commonly concern training and development, pay and benefits, and opportunities for promotion (Robinson and Rouseau, 1994). The frequency of complaints of psychological contract violations has led to psychologists researching the 'violation process'. The violations were neither considered to be the employer's fault nor intended and did not affect the employee's loyalty. It is of course open to interpretation. The psychological contract may be in danger of over use. The violation of a psychological contract implies a broken promise. A business is not an individual person and cannot make a psychological contract that is considered to exist only in the mind of the employee. (Arnold, Cooper and Robinson, 1998). A written agreement is something to which both parties can refer back. Seeing it, both parties can see if the promises are being fulfilled.