The Secret Weapon for Employee Engagement - (Importance of Phycological contracts)

 

Introduction

Establishing and maintaining positive connections within Human Resources (HR) is critical for organizations aiming to accomplish their goals, and this includes both team leaders and subordinates. The psychological contract, an intricate and intangible agreement that encompasses the shared goals and aspirations of an organization's workers and its management, is fundamental to these interactions. Employee engagement, trust, and loyalty to the organization are built around this implicit contract, which in turn boosts individual performance and helps the organization succeed.

A worker's impressions of the company's products and services, as well as the implicit promises included in these impressions, form the basis of the psychological contract, an unwritten agreement between the worker and the employer. Even though it isn't often put in paper, this contract dictates how employers and workers interact with one another in the workplace and influences how they think about and approach their work.

The establishment of trust is crucial when considering the influence of the psychological contract on Human Resource Management (HRM). Organizations become trustworthy employers when they deliver on implicit promises about employment stability, professional advancement, recognition, and justice. On the other side, there are a number of situations that may cause the psychological contract to fall apart, such as layoffs, unethical treatment, and ignoring employees' contributions. This, in turn, can cause trust to fade and the relationship between the company and its workers to worsen.

Building Trust and Commitment

The concept of psychological contract is a kind of agreement between employers and employees which is the basis to set up the trust and commitment between the two sides. From the paper by L. Rousseau (1989) it follows that when personnel are sure that their company does what they promise, they more often build trust to it and their level of organizational commitment increases. Thru this, HRM provides clarification and identifies with this commitment, thus empathize with these employees, which is a critical factor in producing a positive workplace (Rousseau, 1989).

Managing Expectations

One of the predominant tasks of HRM is to maintain forecasting and ensure both sides are clear about the straight employment relationship. Psychological contracts give a system to the employees for job descriptions, roles and responsibilities allocation, as well as to define standards and expectations, what provides the employees with clear guidance, including the prevention of conflicts. Through the tool of HRM that ensure open communication and transparency, employees can picture out the expected behaviors and show explicitly how their challenges help organizational goals be achieved, which further leads to less uncertainties and higher job satisfaction (Conway, N., & Briner, 2002).

Enhancing Retention and Employee Well-being

Not just that, a strong belief system also increases employee satisfaction, engagement, and well-being. Investigations of the attitudes of the professional fieldworkers by Robinson and Morrison (2000) imply that the individuals who feel that their organization recognizes and values their feedback will be necessarily more content with their jobs emotionally and mentally. In addition, a favorable psychological contract decreases turnover intentions and increases employee retention rates which eventually may develop organizational stability and good results (Robinson, S. L., & Morrison, 2000).

Fostering a Culture of Fairness and Equity

Psychological contracts represent a significant association between the organizational culture and climate. HRM executives have the task of ensuring the perception of employees that the terms of psychological contract fulfilling the ethical standards. The terms should be fair and equitable to the employee. The Human Resources Management function provides fairness in everything it does to promote an environment of trust, respect, and inclusivity. It does this by practicing fair decision-making, reward system and performance evaluation processes that are essential for the attraction and retention of the best talent (Rousseau, D. M., & Tijoriwala, 1998).

Conclusion

psychological contracts play vital role in the effective HRM management, as they are accountable for the increased trust and engagement and potential success of the organization. HR professionals are able to ensure that this relational contract is reinforced throughout the organization, by aligning expectations, setting constructive and supportive relationships, and creating a community that is fair and equitable. Exposure to the interactive major issue of positive psychological contracts, will increase the levels of employee’s satisfaction, retention, and happiness and hence the organization will grow and perform better.

Reference

Conway, N., and Briner, R. B.(2002). Full-time versus part-time employees: Job status, the psychological contract, and attitude are among the factors woth understanding their relationships. Job behavior, vocational 61(2), 279-301.

Robinson, S.L., & Morison, E.W., (2000). The development of psychological contract breach and violation: A longitudinal study could help identify the effects of these campaigns on voters' behavior and attitudes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 525-546, 21(5).

Rousseau, D. M. (1989). Workplace psychological and implied contracts present unique challenges in organizations. In the article “Employee Responsibilities and Rights”, the Journal of 2(2), pages 121 – 139 gives these details.

Rousseau, D. M., & Tijoriwala, S. A. (1998) Assessing psychological contracts: The choicest problems, changes, and actions. Journal of Organizational Behavior [Vol.19(6) pp.679-695]..