How to deal with a broken

promise at work?

A contribution on how to deal with psychological contract breach,

ensuring a higher level of wellbeing at work.

Yannick Griep (Researcher)

& MindFWD

An evidence-based message distilled

from research findings, brought to you

by joint forces of:

Imagine your first day in a new job…

Next to your ‘formal’ contract, you are promised...

Flexible working hours

Collegial work environment

Innovation-oriented culture

Psychological contract consists of beliefs,

perceptions, and formalized obligations between

you and your employer, which are based on

promises (Rousseau, 1989; Rousseau, 2001).

Collegial work environment?

Flexible working hours?

Innovation-oriented culture?

The only imperfection to this situation is that it

rarely exists…

Over time, employees and employers beliefs and

perception of what was promised start to drift apart.

Psychological contract breach is the perception that

the employer did not deliver upon his promises (Morrison &

Robinson, 1997)

55% of employees

feel that employer

breached the

psychological

contract within first

two years of

employment.

Robinson and Rousseau (1994)

65% of employees

has experienced a

breach at least once.

Tomprou, Rousseau, and Griep (2016)

65%

And this has severe consequences…

Every day, every

hour even, promises

get breached.

Conway & Briner (2002), Griep,

Debusscher, and Hansen (2016).

55%

It is bound to happen… so what can YOU do about it?

Sit & Wait

You have a 6.2% chance that

eventually (weeks, months, years)

your employer acknowledges the

breach(es) and/or suggests a

solution (Tomprou, Rousseau, & Griep, 2016).

This non-action will have the most positive impact on your work-related

wellbeing.

There is only one downside: you waiting for your employer to take

intiative seems almost as useless as Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot.

So, you can also decide to take action!

But before you act,

choose your battle

Think about what your

stakes/needs are and why:

Which of the breaches do you

really care about?

Then, involve your Supervisor

Make your needs explicit;

Ask for acknowledgment and/or action.

To vent

To discuss the problem

To craft a solution

To speak up collectively

and/or involve your Peers

Whenever you experience a breach, reflect on what you want

and need. Based on that:

1. Sit and Wait

2. Choose you battle

3. Involve supervisor or peers

Assistant Professor (@ University of

Calgary, Alberta, Canada):

Focus on the employee-employer

exchange relationship

Because I’m passionate about understanding

how employers can:

Establish / maintain positive relationships with their

employees

Prevent / overcome the negative influence of

broken promises on employees’ emotions,

attitudes, behaviours, and health.

Inspirator: Yannick Griep, Prof. Dr.

Ph.D. (@ Vrije Universiteit Brussel):

Focus on the role of time in

psychological contract processes

. Professor

. BuzzWorks

. Munich

. Team researcher

O2L = Research Group for Occupational & Organisational Psychology and Professional Learning

. KU Leuven

. Unternehmer

TUM

. Louvain

O2L .

Elisabeth

Raes

Anne

Boon

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Scientific references

• Slide 5: Rousseau, D. M. (2001). Schema, promise and mutuality: The building blocks of the psychological

contract. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74(4), 511–541.

DOI:10.1348/096317901167505.

• Slide 5: Rousseau, D. M. (1989). Psychological and implied contracts in organizations. Employee Responsibilities

and Rights Journal, 2(2), 121–139.

• Slide 8:Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When employees feel betrayed: A model of how psychological

contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226–256.

• Slide 9: Robinson, S. L., & Rousseau, D. M. (1994). Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the

norm. Journal of organizational behavior,15(3), 245-259.

• Slide 9: Tomprou, M., Rousseau, D. M., & Griep, Y. (2016). The aftermath of psychological contract violation and

its implications for resolution. Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management,

Anaheim, CA, August 5 – August 9.

• Slide 9: Conway, N., & Briner, R. B. (2002). A daily diary study of affective responses to psychological contract

breach and exceeded promises. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23(3), 287-302.

• Slide 9: Griep, Debusscher, & Hansen (2016). How do you mean my personality influences my psychological

contract evaluation? Evidence from two experience sampling studies. Paper presented at the EAWOP Small

Group Meeting on Unravelling the Role of Time in Psychological Contract Processes, London, United

Kingdom, November 3 – November 4.

• Slide 11: Tomprou, M., Rousseau, D. M., & Griep, Y. (2016). The aftermath of psychological contract violation and

its implications for resolution. Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management,

Anaheim, CA, August 5 – August 9.

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