Characterization of Employees’ Psychological Contract from Two Generations in an Organization from the Banking Sector

Abstract

The psychological contract, which is part of the studies on organizational behavior, has to do with the links constructed between individuals and organizations beyond officially agreed upon explicit commitments (objectives). It becomes effective inasmuch as it recognizes that performance depends on aspects linked to subjectivity. This article presents, from a psychosocial perspective, the results of a study that proposed characterizing the employees’ psychological contract from two generations in the same organization from the banking sector. Starting from a qualitative approach, the method was based on semi-structured interviews, processed with content analysis. The results show that former employees have established balanced psychological contracts (based on reciprocity), while for recent employees the contracts are transactional (typified as low commitment), although in both cases the jobs, legal terms, compensation, and career opportunity are the same. These findings suggest that (agreeing with recent approaches from social psychology and labor sociology) the new generations of workers, who have entered the labor market as of the implementation of flexible labor policies, are facing the new realities with responsibility, preparation and low involvement, while the seek to reach better conditions of stability for themselves in one or several organizations.