Psychological contract inducements and expectations conveyed to potential employees on organisations’ websites

• Published in: SA Journal of Human Resource Management 2019, Vol.17 (1), p.1-11
• Main Authors: Van Wyk, Rene, Chrysler-Fox, Pharny, Van Niekerk, Jaco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Breach of contract; Business Times Top 100 organisations; Career development; Content analysis; Employee obligations; Employees; Employer obligations; Employers; Employment; Employment terminations; Financial services; Human resource management; Information sources; Job hunting; Labor contracts; Labor relations; Mediation; Production management; Psychological aspects; Psychological contract breach; Psychological contract violation; Qiqqa; Social exchange theory; Web sites (World Wide Web); Websites; Workers
• ISSN: 1683-7584; 2071-078X
• DOI: 10.4102/sajhrm.v17i0.1113

Orientation: The employer–employee relationship is becoming increasingly strained, evidenced by the increase in cases referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. These disputes are presumed to be a consequence of breach of the psychological contract of undelivered expectations or obligations. There seems to be a need to improve the management of employer–employee relationships.Research purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to identify inducements and obligations made known by organisations on their websites.Motivation for the study: Clarity of inducements and expectations may provide a foundation to proactively improve the employer–employee relationship.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative content analysis was identified inducements and expectations on the websites of the 2015 Business Times Top 100 organisations. As two of the companies had merged with existing companies, a total of 98 companies were analysed. A codebook on content associated with the psychological contract generated quantitative data from a qualitative analysis.Main findings: Comparisons between different industries (manufacturing, wholesale and financial services) yielded significant differences between organisational policies and career development inducements. Comparisons revealed that organisations with a career section convey more inducements and expectations than organisations without a career section.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations are offered a means to identify inducements and expectations that are publicly conveyed through their websites and inform the psychological contract.Contribution/value-add: The findings contribute to existing theory of the psychological contract. More insight is gained into the expression of inducements and expectations and the potential association with employees’ psychological contract.