VIOLATING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT - NOT THE EXCEPTION BUT THE NORM

The occurrence and impact of psychological contract violations were st udied among graduate management alumni (N = 128) who were surveyed twi ce, once at graduation (immediately following recruitment) and then tw o years later. Psychological contracts, reciprocal obligations in empl oyment developed during and after recruitment, were reported by a majo rity of respondents (54.8 per cent) as having been violated by their e mployers. The impact of violations are examined using both quantitativ e and qualitative data. Occurrence of violations correlated positively with turnover and negatively with trust, satisfaction and intentions to remain.