Perception of Anticipatory Psychological Contract: A Study among Post Graduate Students

Perception of Anticipatory Psychological Contract: A Study among Post Graduate Students

Psychological Contract is the the unwritten contract between employer and employee, representing mutual expectations, beliefs, and obligations. The concept is popular among the HR managers as it is based on managing employment relationships. In order to best align the requirements of the organization and employee, the Human Resource manager has to be cognizant of this unwritten ???contract???. Like all relationships, it is important to shape and understand it starting from recruitment, through talent management and finally the employee exit. High volume campus recruitment still forms a key strategy among companies in growing markets, segments. Hence the understanding of this employment relationship begins with prospective employees who are the final year students. This study talks about the employment beliefs, & future employment relationships of final year students as an ???anticipatory psychological contract??? and includes promises that the future employee wants to make to their employer, along with the obligations they expect in return. Additionally, the long-term Career expectations of students, in conjunction with their Work values was also explored, to understand their interrelationship with the anticipatory psychological contract. This interrelationship has gained importance in organizational psychology, organizational behavior, and HRM where there is an opportunity for practical application. In this study, the respondents' expectations were measured through the collection of inputs on pre-employment beliefs from final year postgraduate students soon to be part of their respective industry???s workforce. The independent variables identified from the review of literature were career strategy and work values. As part of the study, these variables were tested for correlation, and multiple regression was done to understand the impact of career strategy and work values on anticipatory psychological contract. The results proved that a significant relationship exists between the dependent variable (anticipatory psychological contract ) and independent variables( career strategy and work values). Managing psychological contract is an advantage for employees and employers whereby, both can understand the expectations of the other to prevent breach or violation of the contract. Maintaining a positive contract ensures job satisfaction, commitment and talent retention. This study is significant as the expectations during the pre-employment stage affect the psychological contract even after organizational entry. Understanding contributions to the organization and what employees receive in return are also about managing the psychological contract. This study is also aimed at employers in redesigning their recruitment & talent management strategies. The outcomes of strong HRM strategy based on psychological contract are high employee motivation, productivity, and controlled attrition rates. The study also explores the formation and transition of psychological contract from university to workplace. Lastly, the study aims in exposing the expectations of the younger generation, future workforce. The absence of a longitudinal study is a limitation which would provide the longer term view of the concept.

Janani Swaminathan

Management