The psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract, work–related anxiety and intention to quit of sport coaches in South Africa

Abstract

Like most employer-employee relationships, the relationship between sport coaches and their employers is governed by legal work contracts which clearly spell out the rights and obligations of the two parties (the employer and the employee). However, formal contracts do not reflect all the exchanges between the employer and the employee in the workplace. The unwritten dimensions (psychological contract) also impacts on coaches’ employment relationships which is often a neglected area of research. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine whether the psychological contract, violation of the psychological contract and work-related anxiety predict sport coaches’ intention to quit the coaching profession. The study is located within a quantitative research design. The respondents consisted of 151 (n=151) sport coaches sampled through a convenience sampling technique in the Gauteng province, South Africa. The PSYCONES Scale (employer obligations, employee obligations, violation of psychological contract), Work-related Anxiety Scale and Intention to Quit Scale were used to collect data. Descriptive and regression analysis were used to examine the relationship among the constructs. The findings reveal that violation of the psychological contract and work-related anxiety of sport coaches predict intention to quit. This study advocates the notion that, like in other organisational contexts, it is essential for employers in the sport industry to identify and fulfil the psychological contracts of sport coaches in the management of employee relationships between coaches and their employees.