Profiling the desirable psychological contract for different groups of employees: evidence from Greece

Abstract

This study aimed to examine potential variations in employees' perceptions of the desirable psychological contract, based on gender, age, and educational level. A total of 1145 employees – 642 of whom were female – aged between 18 and 64, who had attended all educational levels, participated in the study. T-tests and analyses of variance suggest that there is no uniform view of the psychological contract content among different groups of employees. With the exception of involvement with decision-making affecting the organization, women tend to expect more from their employment relationship. As for age groups, the ‘new generation’ emphasizes balance in personal life, the ‘old generation’ is rather indifferent, while the ‘desert generation’ is the most demanding and attached to the ‘old psychological contract’. Finally, individuals with at least college education have relatively increased expectations, with the exception of co-worker support for personal problems and continuous training.

Keywords:

• age
• educational level
• gender, Greece
• psychological contract

Notes

1. One's belief that the employing organization has failed to adequately fulfil its promised obligations (Morrison and Robinson 1997).

2. According to the Greek National Statistics Service (2006), employees aged 15 to 20 slightly exceeded 1% in 2005.