Impact of non-events on knowledge workers psychological contract and subsequent career transition

Abstract

This research sought to explain what happens when a knowledge worker is denied an opportunity (experiences a non-event) in the work domain. How the non-event/s affect their frame of mind and their relationship with the employer. This was investigated by assessing the subsequent impact on the individual’s agency while assessing the decision to engage in a career transition. “How do non-events in the work domain (e.g., denial of promotion, loss of anticipated job offer or denial of training opportunity) influence future decisions about career transitions?” Quantitative analysis was used to test the various hypotheses. The research was a cross-sectional study. A self-administered online survey was used to collect data from a sample of knowledge workers who had experienced a non-event in the work domain. The use of snowball sampling enabled 241 responses to be obtained over six weeks. Of the 241 respondents, 188 respondents had an intention to engage in a career transition. This study provided empirical evidence of a significant positive relationship between the type of non-event and the two types of psychological contract. “Denial of Training Opportunity” as a non-event is a good predictor of Transactional psychological contract. “Denial of Promotion” and “Denial of Training Opportunity” are two types of non-events that are significant predictors of Transitional psychological contract in the given context. It was further found that Transitional psychological contract and Balanced psychological contracts are a good predictor of the “Intent to engage in a career transition” when a knowledge worker has experienced a non-event. This implies that if a knowledge worker has experienced a non-event such as “Denial of Training Opportunity”, there is a significant chance that the individual has a Transactional psychological contract with their employer and subsequently a significant chance they have an intent to engage in a career transition. This study contributes to the literature in the fields of “Organisation Behavior/Studies, Human Resource Management, and Industrial Relations” and “General & Strategy management”.