As the end of the year approaches, I find myself reflecting on my experiences with clients throughout the past year. During 2006, I have seen an unprecedented degree of anger in the workplace.  The level of frustration, hostility and animosity seems to be spiraling out of control.   Why?  I'm sure that many factors contribute to the angry workplace.  Indeed, the incidence of stress and general hostility in the world at large is on the rise.  Yet when I analyze what I'm seeing in the work world, I conclude that a primary cause of the anger is the perception that employers have broken the psychological contracts with their employees. 

What is a psychological contract? It is the set of beliefs that employees hold about what companies owe them in exchange for their services.  These contracts are not written.  Rather, they are understood to exist in the minds of those in the employer-employee relationship.  They are based upon employees' expectations of fairness and equity.  And the organizational culture influences these contracts greatly.   Psychological contracts, in turn, frame employee reactions.

What are the Pitfalls of Psychological Contracts?

• Perceptions of failure to meet the contract on the part of the organization lowers job satisfaction.
• Since the psychological contracts are based upon expectations, if employers promise more than they can provide, or if they cannot live up to their obligations, employees feel the contract has been violated.
• Individuals sometimes have selective perception: they may see and hear what they want to.
• Employees feel a sense of betrayal when they perceive that the contract has been violated, especially if the violation is seen to be voluntary rather than a response to external threats.

• Feelings of mistrust
• Job dissatisfaction
• Lower organizational commitment
• Increased exit
• Decreased loyalty
• Increased neglect of role

• Technical skill development and pay for individual performance – young to mid-career employees
• Career advancement – Mid to late career employees
• Job security – older employees
• Work/nonwork balance
• Climate for innovation
• Pay for organizational performance
• Perceived organizational support
• Job control
• Type of power and authority used in the organization

Over the next few months, I plan to explore the relationship of psychological contracts, organizational culture change, and anger and hostility in the workplace in greater detail.  I will provide more detail about psychological contracts and organizational culture.  In addition, I will produce case studies from client organizations to assist you in determining how to address the issues of psychological contracts in a changing work world.  Please join me and add your own comments to this discussion.