Many employees are expecting a different, more flexible work environment post pandemic, and rightfully so. One of the many lessons we’ve learned over the past year is that a plethora of jobs can be done remotely. In fact, many people are thriving in the remote environment. By now you’ve probably read one of the many resources touting all the benefits of transitioning to a remote (or at least hybrid) workforce, so I won’t belabor those points here. You may already be thinking about what changes you’ll make to your business to keep up with the post pandemic evolution of work. But have you stopped to think about your employees’ psychological contracts?
No, I’m not talking about evaluating their job contracts. I’m talking about the contracts that are in their minds. So what is a psychological contract?
I’ll be brief. A psychological contract is based on the employees’ perception of a promise that they expect their employer to keep. For example, a prospective employee might be told in an interview “once you get in, there are so many opportunities to grow in this organization”. Upon hearing this, the employee perceives that their new employer is promising a promotion after a certain amount of time. Although this wasn’t explicitly stated, the employee has now formed their own psychological contract.
Now, after a year or two, if the employee hasn’t been promoted, they might perceive that their employer has broken their promise. Essentially this means that the employer has breached, or broken the employee’s psychological contract. And this is what we call a psychological contract breach.
So what does this all mean post-Covid? As I mentioned previously, your employees are already expecting that you’ll jump on the progressive wagon and give them more time to work remotely. They may even believe that you will provide more mental health resources to the team or change the meeting policies so they don’t have Friday meetings at 4pm. Maybe you haven’t stated it explicitly, but if you’re letting them know that you care about their well-being, they’re likely forming a psychological contract with you, one that keeps them hopeful that their employer will give them more flexibility and autonomy to get their work done after the pandemic is over.
If you haven’t had this conversation with your employees yet, it’s time. Why? Because you want to make sure that their hopes and expectations for a return to the office are in line with what you’re actually planning to do. Catching them off guard is not the way to go. Essentially, if your plans are different from what they expect (i.e. their psychological contract with you), there could be consequences. One of which is possible turnover. Yes, they’ll likely look for an organization whose leadership is explicit in their intentions to give them more flexible work options. Or at least they’ll search for an organization whose communication is clear enough that there’s no ambiguity in expectations.
Research points out other consequences of psychological contract breach as well. Some of them are decreased productivity, negative emotional experiences (such as disappointment and feelings of disrespect) as well as employee mental health implications such as anxiety.
But not to worry, here are 3 ways to manage psychological contracts to help with the post-pandemic transition:
1. Be proactive: Understand that employees’ psychological contracts are forming right now. Your messages of caring and promotion of well-being might cause your employees to expect some major changes in your work policies. Whatever you’re planning to do, it’s best to start communicating it early. If you already know what the plan is, let your employees know as well. If leadership is still working out the details, communicate that to your employees. Just don’t leave them in the dark. It’s time to act.
2. Be clear: In your communication, be clear with what employees can expect over the coming months. Ambiguity could be a catalyst to turnover. You want to be clear in what they can expect now, so that you’re not breaching their psychological contracts later. The transition will go more smoothly if everyone is on the same page.
3. Involve them in the change process: This is change management 101. When employees are involved in the change process, they are likely to be motivated and less likely to resist. Whatever decisions leadership makes for a post pandemic transition, your employees will feel more invested in the company if you’re soliciting their feedback and keeping them in the loop during the process. If it’s mandatory that they return to the office, give them the reasons why. This should likely include some research or data to back up your decision. For example, were your employees actually more productive in the office before Covid? When you involve them in the process, they’ll definitely appreciate the transparency around your efforts to simultaneously do what’s best for them and the business.
Let’s face it, As the world “starts to open up” again it can be a bit uncomfortable in some ways. One of those ways is related to the transition back into the office. As you make plans for your employees to return, don’t forget that managing psychological contracts can go a long way. When you breach psychological contracts, you might lose valuable employees or experience a mass decrease in morale or productivity. However, clear, proactive communication and soliciting employee feedback can help mitigate psychological contract breaches and make for a happier workforce.
I’m Dr. Candace Mukendi, occupational health psychology practitioner, licensed psychotherapist, and owner of Be Well Resource Group.
If you want to chat more about how to mitigate psychological contract breaches, or how to promote employee mental health and well-being check out www.BWRESOURCEGROUP.com, email me at admin@bwresourcegroup.com, or send me a message on LinkedIn. I look forward to meeting you. Be safe and be well!
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