Organisational commitment in the era of the new psychological contract

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate organisational commitment in an organisation that had recently experienced organisational restructuring (a merger). The psychological contract that exists between employees and organisations is brittle due to many organisational changes that stem from organisational restructuring. When psychological contracts are breached, employees may experience reduced commitment to the organisation. The target population for this study consisted of all employees working at three recently-merged higher education institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropolis (n=100) and a selfadministered questionnaire was distributed amongst staff. The results indicated that an increase in the number of positive human resource management (HRM) practices reported by respondents correlated with a decrease in violation and breach of the psychological contract, despite organisational restructuring. It was further revealed that effective management of the psychological contract is crucial during organisational restructuring, in order to maintain the commitment and loyalty of employees.

Job Demands and Job Resources of Academics in Higher Education

“…Participants mentioned that a lot of their time was being spent on lectures/teaching, countless meetings in addition to consulting with or assisting students. Such high workloads and large intake of students are likely to lead to a decline in commitment and job insecurity (Theron and Dodd, 2011), as well as low levels of well-being. The fourth most prominent demand mentioned was work-family life conflict.…”

“…The demands that have been placed on academics, including expanding student numbers resulting in increased academic workload, seem to be a prevailing theme in academic career literature (Theron et al, 2014). These changes are likely to influence employees' work as they experience specific career dilemmas, namely, increased levels of job dissatisfaction (Phillips and Connell, 2003), intention to leave, breach of psychological contracts, break in employeeemployer relationships, decline in commitment and job security, and increased workload (Theron and Dodd, 2011).…”

Contemporary Issues in South African Military Psychology

“…However, the nature of the psychological contract will determine the degree of commitment individuals will have. Individuals whose psychological contracts are predominantly relational will have higher levels of organisational commitment than those with transactional contracts (Meyer & Allen, 1991;Theron & Dodd, 2011). This means that, to some extent, employees may value trusting relationships and loyalty more than the economic benefits offered by the employer.…”