Psychological Contract and Employee Performance in the Construction Industry in South-East Nigeria

Abstract

Changes in the workplace as a result of globalization of markets, technology and business restructuring have affected relationships in the workplace. This has challenged the erstwhile trust relationship between employers and employees. The traditional psychological contract that allowed for trust and loyalty leading to job security and stability of the job holder has given way to situations where employees now have the responsibility for their career advancement. The construction industry is one of the industries where the effect of this being felt due to the labour-intensive nature and the use of various flexible job arrangements. The study thus investigated the relationship between psychological contract and employee performance in the construction industry in South-East Nigeria. The study adopted a survey method using a self-structured questionnaire. A total of 274 copies of questionnaire were distributed to employees of the construction companies studied and 220 were validly completed and returned. The validity of the survey instrument was done and reliability conducted using Cronbach alpha. The data collected were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Pearson correlation coefficient result showed r = 0.031. This means that the relationship between the variables is not statistically significant. The study concludes that a significant relationship exists between the psychological contract and organisational citizenship behaviours.

Keywords: Psychological Contract, Employee Performance, Relational Contract, Organisational Citizenship Behaviour, Construction Industry