Abstract
Purpose
Employees who perceive that their employer breaks one or more obligations in their psychological contract (PC) typically experience feelings of violation, and may accordingly decrease their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). We examine how unfolding relationships between PC breach, violation, and OCB over time are influenced by two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and suppression.
Design/Methodology
Using weekly diary survey data--collected over the course of five weeks (Nrespondents=31, Nobservations=155)--we performed latent growth modeling to estimate and relate changes in breach, violation, and OCB over time. These changes over time were related to cognitive reappraisal and suppression.
Results
Increasing breach perceptions positively related to increasing feelings of violation over time, while increasing feelings of violation positively related to decreasing OCB over time. Reappraisers reported lower starting levels of breach and an attenuated increase in violation over time. Suppressors reported stronger increases in breach perceptions over time.
Limitations
Our sample size was small, reducing the statistical power to detect effects of the emotion regulation strategies. Additional data is therefore currently being collected.
Research/Practical Implications
Organizations may benefit from recruiting employees who use cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy. In terms of theoretical implications, research could explore how emotion regulation strategies influence the breach-violation-OCB relationships, by including attribution and cognitive resources as mediators.
Originality/Value
By looking at temporal changes in relationships between breach, violation and OCB, we demonstrate how exchange agreements may gradually weaken or strengthen over time and that these unfolding relationships are influenced by ones' emotion regulation strategies.
Employees who perceive that their employer breaks one or more obligations in their psychological contract (PC) typically experience feelings of violation, and may accordingly decrease their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). We examine how unfolding relationships between PC breach, violation, and OCB over time are influenced by two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and suppression.
Design/Methodology
Using weekly diary survey data--collected over the course of five weeks (Nrespondents=31, Nobservations=155)--we performed latent growth modeling to estimate and relate changes in breach, violation, and OCB over time. These changes over time were related to cognitive reappraisal and suppression.
Results
Increasing breach perceptions positively related to increasing feelings of violation over time, while increasing feelings of violation positively related to decreasing OCB over time. Reappraisers reported lower starting levels of breach and an attenuated increase in violation over time. Suppressors reported stronger increases in breach perceptions over time.
Limitations
Our sample size was small, reducing the statistical power to detect effects of the emotion regulation strategies. Additional data is therefore currently being collected.
Research/Practical Implications
Organizations may benefit from recruiting employees who use cognitive reappraisal as an emotion regulation strategy. In terms of theoretical implications, research could explore how emotion regulation strategies influence the breach-violation-OCB relationships, by including attribution and cognitive resources as mediators.
Originality/Value
By looking at temporal changes in relationships between breach, violation and OCB, we demonstrate how exchange agreements may gradually weaken or strengthen over time and that these unfolding relationships are influenced by ones' emotion regulation strategies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 17th congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology |
| Place of Publication | Oslo, Norway |
| Publication status | Published - 20 May 2015 |
| Event | 17th congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology - Oslo, Norway Duration: 20 May 2015 → 23 May 2015 |
Conference
| Conference | 17th congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology |
|---|---|
| Country | Norway |
| City | Oslo |
| Period | 20/05/15 → 23/05/15 |
Keywords
- psychological contracts
- emotion regulation
- organisational citizenship behaviour