GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT CONTENT AND REACTIONS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT BREACH IN THE TRANSITION CONTEXT: A STUDY OF CROATIAN EMPLOYEES

Abstract

In our study we explored generational differences in psychological contract content (PCC) and reactions to psychological contract breach (PCB) among Croatian employees. We collected the data on a sample of 432 participants and compared the PCC between Generation Y (born from 1981 to 1993) and older employees (born between 1946 and 1980). The results showed that the Generation Y employees expected more from their employers regarding career development, work-life balance, and social atmosphere. At the same time, the older generation perceived stronger employer obligations related to organizational policy, and stronger employee obligations related to in-role performance. We also tested the moderating effect of age on the relationship between PCB and job attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention). The moderating effect was observed only for the relationship between PCB and turnover intention: the younger employees reacted to PCB with a stronger turnover intention than the older employees.

Keywords

• psychological contract
• generational differences
• psychological contract breach
• job attitudes