In today’s business environment, cost-cutting practices such as downsizing and layoffs remains a widespread phenomenon. Although, the understanding of the effects that these practices has on the remaining individuals, defined as the survivors, is poor. The focus in this paper is therefore to examine how survivors of layoffs can be affected on an individual level, and by what causes. The study was conducted using open-ended, qualitative interviews with three individuals with different experiences of layoffs. The empirical data was analyzed by extracting quotations from the interviews. The study found that layoffs affected the morale and attitude towards management of the individual, and that perceived justice and uncertainty are two causes of negative effects from layoffs.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The phenomenon of change has been the subject of debate for decades. Whether the change was planned or as the result of a catastrophic event, change affects nations, people, businesses, the economy and the environment. Typical changes in businesses are mergers, restructuring, transformations and retrenchments. Consequently, to this contentious phenomenon, change has been the subject of research by social scientists, behavioural theorists and analysts. Their collective endeavours have provided the world with a wealth of scientific knowledge. The Metro District Health Services in the Western Cape have undergone major restructuring and transformation. It is with this premise the question is posed, are change agents, leaders, and employees sufficiently empowered to mitigate the challenges and appease the expectations associated with restructuring, transformation and change?Supporting and contextualizing the study to the existing body of knowledge, previous research is reflected upon in an attempt to add value to future change initiatives. The reflections include different perspectives of change management, the multifaceted and evolutionary nature of change. The theoretical framework underpinnings of organisational development and transformation were also explored. One point of departure was to establish what is needed to ensure organisational success and describes activities, action plans and strategies, which modifies the organisational structures. The suggested methodologies, dimensions, variables influencing or enabling transformation formed the baseline for this study, with the emphasis placed on models of change, communication, theories of success formulae for organisational change, competencies of change agents, behaviour and attitudes of all stakeholders. Circumventing the purpose and contextualizing the baseline for this research, the survivor syndrome was explored and the dimensions of different change elements offered value to this study. The intent of the restructuring and transformation initiative, was to strengthen the Metro District Health Services by decentralizing Primary Health Care Services. Selected employees were tasked as change agents to facilitate the process and were simultaneously directly impacted by the process. The objective of this study is to explore and understand the effects of change on selected employees functioning at different levels within the Metro District Health Services during restructuring and transformation of the provisioning of healthcare services. In determining the effects the variables explored were their attitude towards change, their commitment to the organisation, the barriers and challenges encountered with the implementation of the process.The selected participants were part of an intensive restructuring and transformation process. The sample chosen from the population of 350 employees at the regional office of the Metro District Health Service and was representative of the greater population. The sample includes selected managers and employees at different hierarchal levels ranging from salary levels five to fourteen. Ensuring representativeness the different departments were used as strata and within each department a random sampling method was used to select respondents. Support was provided to explain that stratified sampling is a procedure of selecting a probability sample where a heterogeneous population is first divided into subgroups (known as strata) on the sampling frame, and simple random samples are drawn from each stratum. The research methodology was a combination of qualitative and quantitative research design. A questionnaire was distributed consisting of three sections, Section A Biographical Information, Section B Structured Interview (10 participants), Senior Managers were approached to conduct the structured face to face interviews asking open ended questions and Section C Survey Questionnaire was completed by the rest of the sample group by indicating on a likert scale their agreement or disagreement with the statements. The questionnaires have been demonstrated to be psychometrically sound in that their reliability and validity have been reported on and supported in previous studies. The analysis of the raw data involved statistical computations using Statistical Package for Social Science called Moonstats© and Thematic Content Analysis for the interpretation of the qualitative data. The limitations of the study are discussed as well as recommendations for future change initiatives and future research projects on the subject.

The purpose of this research study was to measure and understand if there was a change in the psychological contract post-acquisition and if so, did this change have a positive, negative or no effect on employee performance. Previous research and literature has suggested that identity was a critical measure of post-acquisition success (2011, p. 26; Weber&Drori, 2011, p. 76) leaving employee performance unmeasured. Rouzies (2011) further suggested that a merger or acquisition can lead to a drop in psychological attachment, identification and commitment to the acquired organisation (2011, p. 25). In addition, Chambers (2008) also made mention of personnel and culture integration being underestimated (p. 16). Therefore, this research has measured psychological contract (identity, culture and communication) in terms of employee performance (potential turnover, job satisfaction and productivity) in the context of post-acquisition integration.The results showed that changes in the psychological contract affect employee performance positively. Equally, if not more, important is maintaining the psychological contract in the post-acquisition integration process and thereby avoiding a drop in employee and acquisition performance.Identity and culture are strong influences of employee performance. The data collected suggested that identity positively impacts employee performance. More specifically, there was a slight positive impact on potential turnover and a more positive impact on job satisfaction and productivity. Culture also positively impacted employee performance. When measured against potential turnover, this impact was slightly positive while job satisfaction and productivity were more positively impacted.Communication was found to be important in reducing potential turnover. From data collected, communication does not impact job satisfaction and productivity. However, the data suggests that communication was adequately handled in the post-acquisition integration process.Recommendations were made dealing with principles to be considered preacquisition, on the importance of minimising disruption and maintaining continuity during post-acquisition. Based on the findings in this research, the psychological contract needs to be maintained in terms of identity, culture and communication. This will in turn ensure that employee performance is maintained post-acquisition. This implies that in addition to financial due-diligence being performed prior to a merger or acquisition, organisations need to be aware of employees’ feelings and attitudes towards the impending change.Future research may look at measuring psychological contract and employee performance in post-acquisition integration across different industries and countries or the same variables could also be measured pre-acquisition. Alternatively, additional variables such as extra-role behaviour and affective commitment could be added to the assessment tool to measure employee performance more closely. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This research stems from the need by organisations to retain their key talent in the context of the change in the psychological contract manifesting in the emergence of boundaryless careers. Employees have ceased to be loyal to one organisation and this has marginalised employers as they still need to retain their key talent as a source of competitive advantage. Most organisations have segmented their workforce to develop talent pools of high potential employees to meet the organisation’s current and future critical skills needs. Hence, this study investigates the impact of inclusion in the talent pool on the psychological contract. Various instruments in the literature study were used to measure the psychological contract of employees in the talent pools in comparison to those not in talent pools. These include the transactional and relational psychological contract instrument by Millward and Hopkins (1998), organisational citizenship behaviour by Coyle-Shapiro (2002), trust by Robinson and Rousseau (1994) and turnover intention by Blomme et al. (2010). The study presents findings from 195 employees from three different organisations, about 50% of whom were in talent pools. The study shows that both groups of employees in and outside talent pools consider their psychological contract with their employers as less transactional. Although being part of the talent pool has a positive impact on the relational psychological contract and organisational commitment, it does not necessarily translate into trust and the intention to stay with organisations. Employees in talent pools are not different to those not in talent pools with regard to trust and the turnover intention. The report offers insights aimed at managers to understand the psychological contracts of their employees within the talent pools to avoid unnecessary violations and to explore new value propositions that are aligned to those contracts. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

While the transition back to work following maternity leave is a stage of a woman’s career that can have significant impact on the rest of her working life, this remains an under-researched topic. The current study examines mothers’ return to work experiences, with a specific focus on the downgrading to their jobs they encounter, perceived as demotions, which no previous study has pursued. Drawing from research investigating mothers’ psychological contracts and their turnover intentions, the current study examines the relationship between demotions, psychological contract violation and employment outcomes. Also of interest was whether psychological contract violation initiated a process of grieving, as mothers struggled to separate from their identities as valued employees. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight mothers. Mothers who perceived their restructured jobs as demotions experienced psychological contract violations in response, and also described emotions consistent with a process of grieving. However, not all mothers who experienced psychological contract breach or violation quit their jobs. Implications for working mothers and for future research are discussed. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Globally competitive industries need to keep up with the rigorous technical innovations to ensure that they reach their targets in terms of customer satisfaction. In order to do this, businesses need to ensure that they have the correct skills and capabilities in order to meet their demands. Organisations encounter difficulties as they constantly need to replace lost skills, and once these skills have been replaced, they need to spend additional money to train and equip new employees adequately to perform the jobs that they are employed to do. These days, many companies find themselves in financial turmoil which emerges from large turnover rates. There has been a severe exodus of skilled employees in the utility industry. During the past twelve months, this industry has lost 1 479 critical skills. Scarce skills are expensive to retain and it is important that employee well-being take top priority to keep up with changing labour demographics. This upkeep relates to huge emphasis being placed on customer satisfaction. In order to keep customers happy, companies first need to keep their employees happy. Efforts made by the organisation to improve situational circumstances for its employees, will promote positive individual and organisational outcomes. Two dimensions contribute greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes, namely a fulfilled psychological contract and fairness in allocating monetary rewards. Money should not be used as a Band-Aid; not everything can be remedied with money. However, money is important, although it is not the most important factor. Fulfilment of the different dimensions of the psychological contract, including, but not limited to opportunities for personal growth and career advancement, and a management-supportive work environment are vital towards establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of psychological contract breach, job satisfaction and turnover intention in the utility industry and to determine the outcomes thereof. A mixed method approach was used to gather data. In the qualitative study, managers and staff (N = 15) were interviewed and a thematic content analysis was performed. In the second phase of the study, the quantitative part, questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 251) across all levels of the organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Job Satisfaction Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. The results of Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that a total of 60% of participants made reference to the importance of money. Emphasis was also placed on other aspects, where 53% of participants made mention of leadership being an important driver of job satisfaction. Other themes also regarded as important toward curbing skills loss were the importance of personal excellence and the need for effective communication as drivers of job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) found that a fulfilled balanced psychological contract displayed a strong, positive relationship with job satisfaction and that job satisfaction had a negative impact on turnover intention. These findings support the negative impact of psychological contract breach on job satisfaction and, in relation to this, job dissatisfaction positively impacted turnover intention. It was further found that psychological contract breach of the balanced contract had an indirect positive impact on turnover intent via job satisfaction. Recommendations for future studies were made. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the processes of the psychological contract during organisational socialisation. Research on psychological contract tends to focus more on the content and breach of the contract. Very little is known about the formative stages of the contract. Very little attention has also been given to investigating the psychological contract together with organisational socialisation. Linking the two research areas would further our understanding of both the dynamic nature of the psychological contract. This is achieved by investigating the temporal changes of the psychological contract of new employees, pre-entry up to six months post entry into employment. The research also investigates the psychological contract from the employer`s perspective. It utilises Weick`s (1995) sensemaking properties as a methodological framework to better understand these processes. Consistent with the research aim and objectives and social constructionism, a qualitative methodology was adopted. The research used in-depth semi structured interviews to collect data supplemented with sitting in during recruitment interviews in one of the organisations, and data were analysed using template analysis. Periodic interviews were carried out every four to six months post entry. The research consists of two organisations, where each provided two groups for analysis. The findings show that after entry into the organisation, the psychological contract changes in a variety of ways influenced by socialisation into the organisation. A model based on the findings is presented and discussed in the discussion chapter. The research also makes a contribution (methodology) by adopting the sensemaking framework.

Globally competitive industries need to keep up with the rigorous technical innovations to ensure that they reach their targets in terms of customer satisfaction. In order to do this, businesses need to ensure that they have the correct skills and capabilities in order to meet their demands. Organisations encounter difficulties as they constantly need to replace lost skills, and once these skills have been replaced, they need to spend additional money to train and equip new employees adequately to perform the jobs that they are employed to do. These days, many companies find themselves in financial turmoil which emerges from large turnover rates. There has been a severe exodus of skilled employees in the utility industry. During the past twelve months, this industry has lost 1 479 critical skills. Scarce skills are expensive to retain and it is important that employee well-being take top priority to keep up with changing labour demographics. This upkeep relates to huge emphasis being placed on customer satisfaction. In order to keep customers happy, companies first need to keep their employees happy. Efforts made by the organisation to improve situational circumstances for its employees, will promote positive individual and organisational outcomes. Two dimensions contribute greatly to a positive employment relationship which is conducive towards promoting positive individual and organisational outcomes, namely a fulfilled psychological contract and fairness in allocating monetary rewards. Money should not be used as a Band-Aid; not everything can be remedied with money. However, money is important, although it is not the most important factor. Fulfilment of the different dimensions of the psychological contract, including, but not limited to opportunities for personal growth and career advancement, and a management-supportive work environment are vital towards establishing and maintaining a positive employment relationship. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of psychological contract breach, job satisfaction and turnover intention in the utility industry and to determine the outcomes thereof. A mixed method approach was used to gather data. In the qualitative study, managers and staff (N = 15) were interviewed and a thematic content analysis was performed. In the second phase of the study, the quantitative part, questionnaires were distributed to employees (N = 251) across all levels of the organisation. The measuring instruments used were the Psychological Contract Inventory, Job Satisfaction Scale and Turnover Intention Scale. The results of Article 1 (Chapter 2) showed that a total of 60% of participants made reference to the importance of money. Emphasis was also placed on other aspects, where 53% of participants made mention of leadership being an important driver of job satisfaction. Other themes also regarded as important toward curbing skills loss were the importance of personal excellence and the need for effective communication as drivers of job satisfaction. Article 2 (Chapter 3) found that a fulfilled balanced psychological contract displayed a strong, positive relationship with job satisfaction and that job satisfaction had a negative impact on turnover intention. These findings support the negative impact of psychological contract breach on job satisfaction and, in relation to this, job dissatisfaction positively impacted turnover intention. It was further found that psychological contract breach of the balanced contract had an indirect positive impact on turnover intent via job satisfaction. Recommendations for future studies were made. / MCom (Labour Relations Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Especially during times of intense change, managers may negatively impact the quality of employee-manager relationships by breaching or violating psychological contract terms and exhibiting unfair treatment (i.e., interactional injustice) in the workplace. A psychological contract is conceptualized as an exmployee's perception or individualistic belief about the reciprocal and promissory nature of the employment relationship (Argyris, 1960; Levinson, Price, Munden, Mandl, & Solley, 1966; Rousseau, 1989, 1990, 1995; Schein, 1965, 1994). Misperceptions surrounding contractual changes and perceived misalignments between managers' words and deeds have contributed to employee perceptions of contract breach and violation, which are linked to negative employee attitudes and behaviors (Andersson, 1996; Morrison & Robinson, 1997; Pate, Martin, & Staines, 2000; Rousseau, 1995). Employees may simultaneously experience interactional injustice when managers act in disparaging ways and fail to provide adequate explanations (Bies, 1989; Bies & Moag, 1986). Leadership literature has provided evidence that high-quality leadership can positively influence employees' behaviors and attitudes and increase perceptions of workplace fairness (Dirks & Ferrin, 2002; Kickul, Gundry, & Posig, 2005; Kouzes & Posner, 2003). However, the relational role of leadership credibility, within the context of psychological contract breach and violation and interactional justice, has not been examined in leadership, psychological contract, and organizational justice literatures. This study was designed to explore the relationships between leadership credibility, interactional justice, and psychological contract breach and violation. The results of the study confirmed that employees' perceptions about leaders' credibility does strongly relate to managerial violation, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. / Ph. D.

Employees across the world experience change in the workplace due to a fast-fluctuating environment in which organisations operate. According to Maumo and Kinnunen (1999) a transformation has taken place in the industrialised world of work over the last few decades. Downsizing, right-sizing or restructuring have become familiar terms in difficult economic conditions and implies that rationalising of jobs are inevitable. Organisations attempt to reduce costs, which in turn places pressure on employees to modify their jobs, seek alternative employment (intention to quit) and relocate, all of which are likely to fuel job insecurity (Hartley, Jacobson, Klandermans & Van Vuuren, 1991; Iyo & Brotheridge, 2004). The unemployment rate in South Africa is one of the highest in the world with 36% of its citizens being unemployed in 1999 (Kingdon & Knight, 2001). What's more is that, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 4.1 million people in South Africa were classified as unemployed in 2009. Frequent reorganisation and statements regarding flexibi lity are signals that one's job security is not secure. Even vague signals of downsizing or change may encourage employees to have intention to quit (Iyo & Brotheridge, 2004). When organisations start to downsize, some people may expect to become unemployed. Sverke, Hellgren and Naswall (2002) state that organisational change is an antecedent to job security. Mauna and Kunnunen (1999) agrees that objective circumstances of an insecure job situation can be defined as the experience of job insecurity, while according to De Witte (1999) the growing emphasis on more flexible employment contracts also intensify feelings of job insecurity. Job insecurity has been found to predict stronger intention to quit within the organisation (Ashford, Lee & Bobko, 1989). This means that a flexible, multiskilled, knowledgeable, interchangeable and adaptable workforce are exposed to new management techniques as well as altered labour relations/human resource policies and activities, which in turn influence employers' obligations, employees' obligations, the state of the psychological contract, job insecurity and employees' intention to quit (Ekkerd, 2005). The primary objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between the psychological contract, individual characteristics, job insecurity and the intention to quit of security employees (N=217) in the Vaal Triangle. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Constructs were measured by means of the psychological contract (employer obligations, employee obligations and the state of the psychological contract), an "individual characteristics" questionnaire, a job insecurity questionnaire and an intention to quit questionnaire. The research method for each of the two articles consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Factor analyses, as well as Cronbach alpha coefficients were computed to assess the reliability. Validity of the different product moment correlation coefficients, and regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the constructs employed in this research. Significant differences are found between various individual characteristics and the scores of the psychological contract (employer obligations scale, employee obligations scale and the state of the psychological contract scale), the individual characteristics questionnaire, job insecurity scale and the employee's intention to quit scale. A practically significant correlation was found with a small effect between the state of the psychological contract, employer obligations and employee obligations. Results demonstrate a significant relationship between the psychological contract, type of contract, gender and tenure. No significant relationship was found between the psychological contract and age and qualification of the employees. Multiple regression analysis indicates that employee obligations predicted negative intention to quit. Job insecurity predicted positive intention to quit. Conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for future research are put forward. / MCom. Industrial Psychology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011