Caught in the Middle: How and When Psychological Contract Breach by Subordinates Relates to Weekly Emotional Exhaustion of Supervisors

Abstract

In psychological contract research, the side of the supervisor is strongly underexposed. However, supervisors are responsible for maintaining relationships with both their subordinates and senior management and are likely to be influenced by events unfolding in these relationships. In this study, we state that supervisor well-being may be affected by subordinates who fail to meet their obligations. This study adds to psychological contract research by developing an understanding of how and when subordinate psychological contract breach (PCB) is associated with supervisor emotional exhaustion. Through a weekly diary survey among 56 Dutch supervisors, we test hypotheses about the relationships between subordinate PCB and the emotional exhaustion of the supervisor, the mediating role of perceptions of performance pressure by the supervisor in this relationship, and the moderating role of i-deals between the supervisor and senior management. Multilevel analyses support the first two hypotheses, but contradictory to our expectations show that the positive association between subordinate PCB and the emotional exhaustion of the supervisor is strengthened when the supervisor has high levels of i-deals with senior management. We discuss the findings in relation to their contribution to psychological contract theory.

Breaking the psychological contract of travel agency employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of mindfulness

“…When employees are assured that their employers have broken the agreed-upon promises, they will be emotionally exhausted, and they will feel that there is not sufficient mental energy or work ability to be provided in their firms. This result is consistent with the findings of previous studies (e.g., De Jong et al, 2021;Gakovic and Tetrick, 2003;Maslach et al, 2001;Reimann and Guzy, 2017) elucidating that employees' emotional exhaustion can be substantially raised by their perception of PCB.…”

“…Previous studies have also shown a significant positive association between PCB and employees' emotional exhaustion. For instance, De Jong et al (2021) found a substantial positive association between subordinate PCB and supervisor emotional exhaustion through a "weekly diary" survey among Dutch supervisors.…”

“…First, we hypothesize that PCB has a positive association with specific work-related attitudes and behaviors, that is, organizational cynicism (H1) (e.g., Johnson and O'Leary-Kelly, 2003; Li and Chen, 2018), workplace incivility (H2) (e.g., Sayers et al, 2011), and work alienation (H3) (e.g., Li and Chen, 2018), which in turn have positive associations with emotional exhaustion (H5–H7) (e.g., Eryesil and Öztürk, 2016; Gkorezis et al, 2015; Johnson and O'Leary-Kelly, 2003). We also hypothesized that PCB positively impacts emotional exhaustion (H4) (e.g., De Jong et al, 2021; Reimann and Guzy, 2017). Finally, the developed research framework also evaluates the interactive impact of mindfulness at work on the direct paths between attitudes and behaviors (i.e., organizational cynicism, work incivility, and work alienation) and emotional exhaustion (H8a, H8b, and H8c).

Figure 1.The research model.

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Tales from the Other Side: An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Third‐party Enforced Psychological Contract Breach Risk on Breachers and their Relationships During a Work‐to‐rule Teacher Strike

“…Little research has been done from the perspective of employers/breachers, nor has research examined the effects on them. There are a few exceptions, such as Hallier and James (1997), who examined how middle managers balanced the demands of upper management and employees; Guest and Conway (2002), who asked managers about communication and the PC; and Nadin and Williams (2012) and de Jong et al (2021), who examined how employee-initiated PC breeches impact supervisors.…”

“…These effects can include employee deviance (Peng et al., 2016), lowered organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs) and commitment (Coyle‐Shapiro & Kessler, 2000), lowered job satisfaction, reduced in‐role performance, and increased turnover intention and turnover (Zhao et al., 2007). Research in this area has focused on breaches from the perspective of employees, even though there have long been calls for non‐employee perspectives (de Jong et al., 2021; Guest & Conway, 2002; Hallier & James, 1997; Nadin & Williams, 2012). Little research has been done from the perspective of employers/breachers, nor has research examined the effects on them.…”