Some people call it a psychological contract, and in his new book, Wellin uses the idea of a personal deal but if you manage staff or have your own boss, ignoring this fragile agreement could cost you dearly.A psychological contract is an agreement of the informal things between an employee and his/her organisation. It sits outside the formal written contract of employment and relates to how staff expect to be treated and managed and how an employer expects work to be delivered. Maybe we could just call it trust.
In his review Wellin shows how individuals and organisations can develop these important deals, how easily they are damaged or broken and the catastrophic effect injury can be.
Some see the psychological contract as a forerunner of what we call employee involvement. Whatever you call it have you asked your staff what they expect from you and have you discussed with them what your expectations are?
