Do High Performing Employees Suffer More? The Relationship between Layoffs, Psychological Contract Violation and Performance

Ferstl, Christina (2024) Do High Performing Employees Suffer More? The Relationship between Layoffs, Psychological Contract Violation and Performance. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

Recently, mass layoffs are on the rise across various sectors, which makes understanding how employees process the news of a layoff crucial. Research suggests that high levels of perceived fairness during the layoff process can reduce the negative psychological consequences experienced by employees. One factor predicting the fairness judgments of a layoff is the evaluation of one ́s own performance. However, specific research on performance as indicator for justice during a layoff process is still scarce. Hence, the goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of layoffs on psychological contract violation (PCV) and to test for the moderating role of employees ́ performance. We hypothesized that 1) There is a positive relationship between layoffs and psychological contract violation and 2) Performance moderates the relationship between layoffs and PCV such as that employees showing high performance compared to low performance will perceive higher PCV. The study was designed as a 2x2 experimental vignette in the form of an online survey, with participants being full or part-time working adults. The results showed significant associations between layoffs and PCV (F (1, 141) = 5.723, p = .018, η2 = .039), as well as a moderation effect of layoffs and performance on PCV (F (1, 141) = 9.353, p = .003, η2 = .062). Therefore, H1 and H2 could be supported. Future research is needed to investigate how to reduce feelings of PCV due to distributive injustice and to test for self-esteem as a covariate in the relationship between layoffs, performance and PCV.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Kitz, C.C.
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	02 Jul 2024 07:42
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2024 12:30
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3606

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