Perceived contract violation and job satisfaction: Buffering roles of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how employees’ perceptions of psychological contract violation or sense of organizational betrayal, might diminish their job satisfaction, as well as how their access to two critical personal resources – emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy – might buffer this negative relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Two-wave survey data came from employees of Pakistani-based organizations.

Findings

Perceived contract violation reduces job satisfaction, but the effect is weaker at higher levels of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy.

Practical implications

For organizations, these results show that the frustrations that come with a sense of organizational betrayal can be contained more easily to the extent that their employees can draw from relevant personal resources.

Originality/value

This investigation provides a more complete understanding of when perceived contract violation will deplete employees’ emotional resources, in the form of feelings of happiness about their job situation. A sense of organizational betrayal is less likely to escalate into reduced job satisfaction when employees can control their negative emotions and feel confident about their work-related competencies.

Citation

De Clercq, D., Haq, I.U. and Azeem, M.U. (2020), "Perceived contract violation and job satisfaction: Buffering roles of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 383-398. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-07-2019-1837