Exploring the psychological contract of supervisors : the conflicting roles of being an employee and representing management

Abstract

Despite the all-embracing literature on psychological contracts, little has been documented on the conflicting roles of supervisors as employees and as employer representatives within the context of psychological contracts. The purpose of this study was to explore the dual role of supervisors as employees and employer representatives within the psychological contracts therein experienced in each role and/or the exchange relationships. Specifically, a qualitative research approach was employed in this study to explore the unwritten contracts of each role experienced and/or occupied by supervisors, i.e. exploring and describing how supervisors distinguish their obligations and expectations as employees as well as employer representatives. In addition, the way in which supervisors distinguish between the two roles was explored. Using a non-probability sampling technique,17semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees with managerial responsibilities from different sectors. The findings, based on the captured and analysed data, suggested that supervisors do differentiate between the two roles they occupy, being an employee and as well as an employer representative. Furthermore, the findings indicated that supervisors differentiate their psychological contracts in either role, with expectations in either role being similar to a large extent, while the obligations were largely different. Further research on the impact of psychological contracts on the dual role and collaborate the psychological contracts experienced in each role is recommended.