NO OPTION ... RETAIN KNOWLEDGE WORKERS !

What To Expect Of Youth

What a Professional would like to have in his Job?

Opportunity to Learn

Opportunity to Earn

Opportunity to Contribute 

Ideally, all of them and Practically at least one of them! 

PSYCOLOGICAL CONTRACT

“Mantra for enduring and mutually beneficial employee – employer relationship”

In management student’s perspective the relation between employee and employer is an agreement to abide to both the parties to work for a common purpose to achieve different objective for mutual betterment. This contract has two sides, verbal and felt. The verbal could be in the form of letter of appointment, job description, performance goal, yearly targets etc. The other part is even stronger and influential than previous which is in unwritten and implied form. The breach of the previous can be brought to the court of justice for fulfillment however, the later one could not be. In common words it is called psychological contract.

The psychological contract is a set of unwritten expectations concerning the relationship between an employee and an employer. The psychological contract deals with factors that are neither defined nor written in contract of employment such as employee commitment, productivity, integrity, loyalty, commitment, quality of working life, job satisfaction, attitudes to flexible working, and the provision and take-up of suitable training.

The “psychological contract is defined as an individual's beliefs about the terms and conditions of a reciprocal exchange agreement between that person and another party”, Rousseau, 1989. Psychological contract was originally defined by Argyris, 1960; Levinson, 1962; and Schein, 1980; to characterize the subjective nature of employment relationships, the present conceptualization focuses on individuals' beliefs in and interpretation of a promissory contract. Unlike formal or implied contracts, the psychological contract is inherently perceptual, and thus one party's understanding of the contract may not be shared by the other.

The UK Chartered Institute of Personnel Development defines the concept in April 2010 as, '…the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other'. These obligations will often be informal and imprecise: they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer, for example during the recruitment process or in performance appraisals. Some obligations may be seen as 'promises' and others as 'expectations'. The important thing is that they are believed by the employee to be part of the relationship with the employer..."

Psychological contracts, comprising perceived obligations, must be distinguished from expectations, which are general beliefs held by employees about what they will find in their job and the organization. For example, a new manager may expect to receive a high salary, to be promoted, to like her job, or to find the walls of her office painted a neutral color. These expectations emanate from a wide variety of sources, including past experience, social norms, observations by friends, and so forth. Psychological contracts, by contrast, entail beliefs about what employee believes she is entitled to receive, or should receive, because she perceive that her employer conveyed promises to provide those things. Thus only those expectations that originate from perceived implicit or explicit promises by the employer are part of the psychological contract.

The work culture and environment have also changed worldwide over period of time which has to be addressed in order to address the psychological demand for right treatment for parties:

The psychological contract is very distinct from the legal contract of employment. The psychological is a reality of the situation as perceived by the parties, and may be more influential than the formal contract in affecting how employee behave from day to day.

It is the psychological contract that effectively implies the employee what she is required to do in order to meet her side of the bargain, and what she can expect from her job. Employer’s expectation must be on doing the right thing and succeed for the clients, building relationships, teamwork and the course to lead taking the charge and personal responsibility for building the better career of the employee. Similarly, employee must expect for being recognized and getting reward for her contribution in the company, enjoyable work place, respect and respond to their ideas and continuous learning opportunities having access to knowledge and support for personal and career growth.

Venn diagram represents quite complex views of the Psychological Contract, significantly including external influences, which are often overlooked in attempting to appreciate and apply Psychological Contracts theory. Venn diagrams created British logician and philosopher John Venn in 1880 is useful in representing all sorts of situations where two or more related areas interact or interrelate. The Venn diagram provides a simple interpretation of the factors and influences operating in Psychological Contracts.

Psychological Contract - Venn diagram

vc = visible contract - the usual written employment contractual obligations on both sides to work safely and appropriately in return for a rate of pay or salary, usually holidays also, plus other employee rights of notice and duty of care.

pc = psychological contract - which is hidden, unspoken, unwritten, and takes account of the relationship references (r) between employee and market (which includes other external factors), also the employer's relationship with the market (also r), and the visible contract (vc). Note that only the visible contract (vc) element is written and transparent. All the other sections are subject to perceptions until/unless clarified.

What would happen if the contract is broken?

Research evidence shows that, where employee believes that management have broken promises or failed to deliver on commitments, this has a negative effect on job satisfaction and commitment and on the psychological contract as a whole affecting in the real output. This may result to low employee morale; job dissatisfaction; employee losing interest on job and employer losing confident on trust; capability; and drive of employee. This may lead to relationship break up.

This is particularly the case where managers themselves are responsible for breaches, for instance where employees do not receive promised training, or performance reviews are badly handled. Managers cannot always ensure that commitments are fulfilled - for example where employment prospects deteriorate or organisations are affected by mergers or restructuring – but they may still take some blame in the eyes of employees.

In order to prevent the break of psychological contract the Managers need to remember that the employment relationships may deteriorate despite management’s best efforts and preventing breach in the first place is better than trying to repair the damage afterwards.

But where breach cannot be avoided it may be better to spend time negotiating or renegotiating the deal, rather than focusing too much on delivery.

In nutshell, keeping all the above fact together in order to manage the mutually beneficial and relationship process fairness; clarity of mutual expectations; transparent leadership; change management; selling of ideas; empathizing on each other sentiments; open communications; employee involvement; managing expectations; and timely frequently measuring employee attitudes are recommended by Management Gurus. Furthermore, it has been empathized that accommodating each other’s the expectations as far as possible for mutually beneficially enduring relationship.

The kinds of commitments employers and employees need to one another and reflect in an employment are: employees must promise to work hard, uphold company’s reputation, maintain high levels of attendance and punctuality, show loyalty to the organization, work extra hours when required, keep updating skills required for the benefit, be courteous to clients and colleagues and be always honest.

Likewise, on the part of the employers, they must promised to offer pay commensurate with performance, opportunities for promotion, recognition for innovation or new idea, feedback on performance, attractive benefit packages, time to time respectful treatments, job security and a pleasant and safe working environment.

Realization of self managing things in life well is the beginning of success which includes visiting inside you; being positive; enjoying learning; converting moment into memorable event; and respecting opinions, ideas and views of others.

Champion inside you: Nature has made all of us only one of its kind and extraordinary. Each one of us has unique quality and potential to be a champion. The fact is that you have an inborn drive toward the realization of your full capacity. There’s a force within you that makes you restless and discontent, and that drives you onward and upward toward the achievement of your dreams and aspirations. You have a unique destiny, a special purpose. You just need to wake-up to explore the champion inside you.

Bruce Jenner, American Olympian, Actor, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Sports Commentator, “If you want to take your mission in life to the next level, if you're stuck and you don't know how to rise, don't look outside yourself. Look inside. Don't let your fears keep you mired in the crowd. Abolish your fears and raise your commitment level to the point of no return, and I guarantee you that the Champion Within will burst forth to propel you toward victory”.

Increase your enthusiasm: Once Winston Churchill, English Statesman quoted, “Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm”. It is an inner drive that motivates one. A vision, drive and persistence are essential to remain motivated. Self exploration is required to identify what motivates you; what are you passionate about? As the psychologist Abraham Maslow once wrote, “The story of the human race is the story of men and women selling themselves short.” The average person tends to settle for far less than he’s capable of and then wonders why he’s so dissatisfied and frustrated with his life. Challenge yourself to do things differently than you have done in the past. It provides new ideas and keeps you interested. Plan the future, but live in the present.

Be happy: Lord Buddha, said “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him”.

Nobody can make you unhappy unless you decide to be so. It is the state of mind which makes you happy and unhappy. If you decide to be happy no one would be able to make you unhappy. Even in adverse situations, remain completely relaxed. You’ll begin to experience a flow of energy coming into your mind and body. You’ll have a tremendous sense of well-being. At this point, you’ll be ready to get the full benefit of these moments of contemplation. Avoid worrying. The majority of the things you worry about never occur. There is famous proverb in Spanish, that “Happiness is realizing that nothing is too important”.

Feel privileged and blessed, be informative and enjoy study: A role model of many people and Nobel prize winner, 1993, Ex President of South Africa once said, “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that a son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine that a child of farm workers can become the president....”.
Enjoy your study if you take intent to study hard, you may perceive “h” for heavy; “a” stand for arrogance; “r” sands for rough and finally “d” stands for dominant. You may feel becoming heavy, arrogant, rough and dominating individual. Information is the calories required by mind to nourish your wisdom. Take study as an opportunity to be more informative and wise. Wisdom come from being natural and playful not by being serious. Dr. John G. Hibbon, believes, “Education is the ability to meet life's situations”. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go”, Dr. Seuss, American Writer and Cartoonist,

Possibility of happening is beginning of happiness: Howard Thurman, an American Educator quotes, “A dream is the bearer of a new possibility, the enlarged horizon, and the great hope”. Only knowledge can help to identify the possibility, it leads to happiness in the hope of changing the status quo. Creativity is one of the superior qualities that human being has over other species. Try to see the things from different perspectives and find way to go ahead. Do it right the first time and you will not have to take time later to fix it.

Time cannot be saved, make best use of it: The only thing that we cannot save is time but can utilize it in a way to make it fruitful for us and others. Act with enthusiasm in all that you do. This life is not a rehearsal for anything else. This is the real thing. The game is on. Time is passing quickly, and all of your decisions and indecisions, your actions and inactions, have added up to create the life you’re living at this very minute. If you want things to be different in the future, you’ll have to make things different in the present. Think of your time as money. Are you getting a good return on the way you invest/spend it?

Take things and event as they are: The 90 /10 principle appears in every event in life. The ninety percent is reality and remaining ten percent is a fiction which we add to make it hundred percent. If you do not add the ten percent it will never become complete. You are making an insignificant thing unnecessarily significant. Believe in the power of positive, affirmative thinking, and have a low tolerance for negativity; by doing so you can convert it into positivity. There’s an old saying that you can’t solve a problem on the level that you meet it. This means that wrestling with a challenge is usually fruitless and frustrating.

You are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Learn to accept total responsibility for yourself. If you do not manage yourself, then you are letting others to have control of your life. Emotional stability and patience counts a lot.

Be focused and self-disciplined: That’s what adults are supposed to do in order to “grow up” . Setting priorities take the time to consider all the aspects in your life and ask yourself these questions. What are the important things in my life? Where do my priorities lie? Are all aspects of my life (family, study, leisure, and friends) receiving attention? What are the long-term outcomes of what I am doing? How does study form part of the total picture?

Get into the habit of finishing what you start. Be a professional who exhibits self-confidence and self-assurance in your potential to complete any task. Make a list of your accomplishments as you go through the day-they are greater than you think. Use your subconscious mind by telling it to do what you want. Instead of telling yourself, "I can't do that very well," say, "I can do this very well." Develop a faster operating tempo or pace. Do things with a sense of urgency. Get over of thinking you must do everything on your own. Make a commitment to show someone a specific accomplishment on a certain date.

Treat everyone as significant and valuable: You get what you have given; positive human network is one of the important things in professional and personal life. Start each day with a smile. Get into the habit of writing down a person's name-it will help you to remember it. Be grateful to everyone.

Keep yourself healthy and take care:”I am fascinated by what is beautiful, strong, healthy, what is living. I seek harmony”. German, Director Quotes. Exercise your mind, body and spirit so you can be someone to whom people count on, and so you can live expansively and with abundance.

You are born with great potentials which need to be converted into passion. One of the greatest personalities of all times OSHO says, “If you just remain driftwood at the mercy of the winds and the waves, if we remain accidental, then there is every possibility we will miss the opportunity. Do not think life is just an extension between the moment you born and the moment die; it is perhaps beyond that which depends upon the good work and lasting impact that we leave behind”.

In a nutshell, do it right or do it wrong just do it! You’ll have to take complete charge of yourself and your life and make things change, because they won’t change by themselves, you are great in real sense. An American author once said, “Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors”.