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Purpose – Psychological contract breach, which represents instances when organizations fail to fulfil their side of the employment bargain, has been associated with salient concepts in strategic human resources management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate moderated mediated relationships involving breach, organizational (procedural and interactional) justice and emotional well-being. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws upon quantitative data collected by means of a questionnaire that was administered to 620 full-time technical and shop-floor employees in an automobile-parts company in Malta. The questionnaire included psychometrically validated scales on breach, justice and well-being. Findings – Breach partially mediated the relationship between justice and well-being while justice levels did not differentiate this mediating effect except for interactional justice. Finally, the interaction between procedural and interactional justice failed to explain the mediating role of breach over and above their single contributions although interactional justice seemed to make a bigger impact. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes towards a better understanding of the relationships between breach, justice and well-being. The major limitation is that because of its cross-sectional nature, causality cannot be inferred. Practical implications – Given that managing the employment relationship impacts on how people feel and hence perform, understanding how breach, justice and well-being are related, is strategically important to human resources management. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, there is no previous research that links breach, justice and well-being in one study.

PurposeTo investigate specific barriers that might be hindering Maltese women from achieving a managerial position.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on research by Cromie. Barriers are classified into two main categories; internal and external barriers. Job‐involvement and work‐based self‐esteem are considered to be internal barriers, whereas attitudes towards women in management are considered to be external barriers. The total population was 200, consisting of male and female middle managers, female and male employees and B. Commerce students.FindingsResults indicate no differences between job involvement and work‐based self‐esteem of male and female managers. On the other hand, both male employees and students seem to hold more stereotypical attitudes towards women in management than their female counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the basic limitations of this study was the sample size since small samples make it difficult to generalize. Further research may focus on two main areas. First, it would be useful to have qualitative research on the work experiences of female managers to further investigate the various factors that have helped and hindered women thorough their career advancement. Secondly, research on corporate climate can be helpful in identifying organizational practices that might be blocking female career prospects. Finally, a study considering how attitudes can be reshaped through the educational system and through the use of the media can also help to reduce gender stereotypes.Practical implicationsThis study indicates that women often have to face several attitudinal barriers, which in turn may explain the lack of female participation in managerial occupations. A change in organizational policies can help women to overcome these barriers.Originality/valueThis paper confirms that, as in several countries, Maltese women are facing several barriers, which are hindering their career prospects. It also highlights the important role of organizations in reducing workplace barriers.

The psychological contract is the construct through which one attempts to explain the quality of the employment relationship from the point of view of each of the contract party with regards to obligations and inducements and can be employed to explain organizational change dynamics. Failing to provide promised obligations is termed as violation. This study examined the occurrence of contract violation amongst 132 Maltese public service employees at a time when radical changes in practices were being proposed. Violation was conceptualised in two ways: under‐fulfilled employer obligations and over‐fulfilled employee obligations. Results show that whereas employees were likely to report that their employer violated obligations, they themselves were more likely to over‐fulfil their obligations towards their employer. In addition, contract term violations were related to important work outcomes and generally in a different way for the two forms of violation. Results are discussed and future research suggestions highlighted.

Cassar and Briner (2005)