Abstract:
A mutual understanding of psychological contract terms between employees and supervisors has been linked to outcomes of higher job performance, job satisfaction, and affective commitment. The study explores the impact of mutuality in the psychological contract, specifically, of power, reward, skill utilisation, and perceived supervisor support, on the job performance, job satisfaction, and affective commitment of employees. The research design was quantitative, with data from 146 employee-supervisor dyads, working in one large New Zealand organisation. The data was collected using surveys, and analysed using latent congruence modelling. Results of the study suggest that mutuality of psychological contract terms is important for the job performance of employees, and less important for their job satisfaction and affective commitment. The results also suggest that an employee’s job satisfaction and affective commitment are more heavily influenced by their own perceptions of the psychological contract terms. The moderating effects of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and power distance were found to be significant for all psychological contract terms, and the outcomes of job performance and job satisfaction.