The Impact of Organizational Changes on the Psychological Contract and Attitudes Towards Work in Four Health Care Organizations

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of a longitudinal study in four health care organizations in the Netherlands, examining changes in psychological contracts and the consequences of these changes during a process of organizational transformation. The general hypothesis tested in this study is that changes in the organization affect psychological contracts of employees, and that changes in the psychological contract affect workplace attitudes at three points in time (with six-month intervals) during a process of organizational change, employees of the four organizations were asked to fill in a questionnaire, measuring the mutual obligations of employer and employee (the psychological contract), attitudes (affective commitment, intention to turnover), and the employees' perceptions of the organizational changes and the change process. Data for all three measurement points were available for 155 employees. The results show that in these organizations the organizational changes were not of the 'turn key' type, but that there was a continuous process of change affecting employees at different points in time. Furthermore, some employees perceived the changes as positive, while others were not satisfied with the changes and the process of implementing them. The evaluation of change at a certain point in time affects the psychological contract of employees, and consequently influences their attitudes towards work. By means of in-depth interviews with 29 employees the existence of typical patterns of change in the psychological contract (balancing, revision, and abandonment) has been examined. Balancing and revision were the most prominent patterns found, next to some cases of abandonment.