Psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees: Considering the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of past breach experience

Abstract

With the intensification of COVID-19 epidemic, it becomes prominent to discuss the issue about the influence of psychological contract breach on job performance of new generation of employees. Based on social exchange theory, fairness theory, and conservation of resource theory, this study constructed a relationship model between psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees with considering the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of past breach experience. Our hypotheses were tested using data from 235 respondents working in Yunnan Province, China. The results were as follows: first, psychological contract breach had a significant negative effect on job performance of new generation of employees, whether in the whole sample or in two grouped samples; second, both in the overall sample and the grouped sample of state-owned enterprises, job burnout partially mediated the negative relationship between psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees, and past experience of breach positively moderated the negative relationship between psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees; third, in the grouped sample of non-state-owned enterprises, job burnout did not play a significant mediating role in the relationship between psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees, and past breach experience did not play a significant moderating role in this relationship. These findings uncover the psychological mechanism underlying work performance of new generation of employees, and also provide useful theoretical reference for management practices of new generation of employees among different natures of enterprises.

Work stress, mental health, and employee performance

“…However, they have not explained the intermediate path, which limits our understanding of effects of work stress. As work stress causes psychological pain to employees, in response, they exhibit lower performance levels (Song et al, 2020 ; Yu et al, 2022 ). Thus, employees' mental health becomes an important path to explain the relationship mechanism between work stress and employee performance, which is revealed in this study using a stress–psychological state–performance framework.…”

Exploring the Impact of the Psychological Contract on the Well-being of the New Generation of Employees in the Chinese Context

“…They are well-educated, ambitious, more self-aware and have higher psychological expectations of organisations [9]. However, there is also a growing rift between new-generation employees and the organisation as they are more likely to question the organisation's ability to deliver on its promises and the fairness of the performance reward process [10]. Employees with such beliefs are less likely to trust organisational promises and may no longer be willing to have a long-term employment relationship with their current employer [11] [12].…”

Strategic human resource management practitioners’ emotional intelligence and affective organizational commitment in higher education institutions in Georgia during post-COVID-19

“…Leaders face challenges in navigating the changing working conditions and fulfilling the PC in the post-COVID-19 world [53,54]. Studies show how the pandemic has influenced the nature of the PC and shifted expectations for both employees and employers [53,[55][56][57][58]. SHRM practitioners play a crucial role in implementing strategies to meet the needs of both parties and ensure stable employment relationships [59].…”

“…Existing research has primarily focused on the PC, examining content-based elements (transactional and relational) and evaluation-based elements (fulfillment or breach) [81][82][83]. These studies have explored the impact of psychological contracts on work-related attitudes like job engagement, job involvement, and OC [57,[84][85][86][87]. Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler [88] found that PC fulfillment directly influences employees' affective commitment.…”