2025 Bi-Annual Psychological Contract (PC) Small Group Conference

The psychological contract is a mental model that shapes how employees and employers perceive their mutual obligations in the workplace. Typically studied from the employee’s perspective, it reflects the unwritten obligations that each party holds. For instance, an employee may expect the organization to provide a safe working environment and regular pay increases in return for their hard work and loyalty. This contract plays a key role in guiding both perceptions and behaviors in the employee-employer relationship, influencing how each side interacts and what they expect from one another over time.

The landscape of work has undergone profound changes in recent years, shaped by technological advancements, economic shifts, and unprecedented global events like the Covid-19 pandemic. The psychological contract, which traditionally centered around notions of mutual loyalty, security, and permanence in the employee-employer relationship, is being redefined. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), remote and virtual teams, gig work, and precarious employment has altered the way employees view their roles, responsibilities, and the obligations they have, to and of, their employers. The emergence of alternate work arrangements, such as freelance contracts, remote work, flexible schedules and time-limited contracts, has introduced both opportunities and challenges, with increased autonomy often accompanied by insecurity and isolation. Furthermore, these developments are more widespread than before. For instance, due to budget constraints for many European governments, we are now seeing more and more time-limited contracts being used for positions in the public sector, such as higher education. At the same time, we are witnessing the (wish to) move towards more sustainable work practices and the integration of human-algorithm interactions in the workplace also demand a rethinking of how psychological contracts are formed and maintained.

As we navigate this evolving landscape, it becomes critical to ensure that our concept of the psychological contract is future-proof—able to address the rapidly changing realities of work. The relationship between employees and employers is no longer confined to traditional hierarchical structures; it now involves interactions with technology, AI, and algorithms that influence work tasks and decision-making. The psychological contract must be adaptable to reflect these changes and the growing importance of sustainability, precarious work, and the shifting boundaries between work and life. To tackle these new and exciting challenges, we must ensure that the psychological contract remains a relevant framework for understanding and managing the employee-employer relationship in the future.

This small group conference aims to stimulate novel conceptual, empirical, and methodological advances that will serve to maintain the relevance and utility of the PC concept in the ever-evolving work context. The ultimate goal of the conference is to ‘future-proof’ the PC to ensure its relevance as a useful framework for managing employee-employer relationships. Some example topics reflecting the conference theme appear below. However, scholars are also encouraged to submit work that focuses on other aspects of psychological contracts and their associated processes.

· AI and the Psychological Contract: (1) How will employees develop psychological contracts with AI or algorithmic systems they interact with at work? (2) What would the content of a psychological contract with non-human entities look like? (3) How do employees react to perceived psychological contract breach that is triggered by AI?

· The Future of Gig Work and Precarious Employment: (1) How do gig workers perceive their psychological contract? (2) How does precarious employment affect expectations of job security and loyalty? (3) What role can organizations play in fostering trust and commitment in a gig economy?

· Sustainable Employment and Well-being: (1) How do organizations create psychological contracts that prioritize sustainable work practices and employee well-being? (2) What new obligations around work-life balance and sustainability are being formed in modern psychological contracts? (3) How and why do unsustainable psychological contracts still have a place in a world focused on sustainable HR practices?

· Remote and Virtual Teams: (1) How do employees develop a psychological contract in the absence of a physical workplace in which they meet and interact with their employer and colleagues? (2) How does the psychological contract evolve in remote or virtual team environments, and what are the implications for trust and cohesion? (3) What expectations do employees have regarding flexibility, communication, and support in remote work settings?

· Human-Algorithm Relationships: (1) How do employees' interactions with algorithmic systems impact their perceptions of fairness, control, and trust in the workplace? (2) Can psychological contracts exist between employees and the algorithms that shape their work, and how do they influence decision-making? (3) Would algorithms adapt the human-algorithm relationship, following employee reactions that are triggered by perceived psychological contract breach (e.g., turnover, reduced availability for that particular platform, or slower response times)?

This small group conference will take place over two days (April 7th and 8th 2025) at the Ilitch School of Business, Wayne State University in The Motor City (Detroit, Michigan, USA). The program will include a keynote address, academic research presentations, an elevator pitch session, and a joint practitioner-scholar session.

Paper Presentations: We welcome empirical, conceptual, and methodological work. All authors should be prepared to discuss: the purpose, rationale, methods, results, and theoretical and practical implications/value of their work (conceptual pieces do not require discussion of results). Presentations will be 15 minutes in length, plus a 5-minute discussion.

Keynote Speaker: We are pleased to announce that Jackie Coyle-Shapiro (London School of Economics and Political Sciences) will be the keynote speaker. Jacqueline Coyle-Shapiro is a member of the Innovation Co-Creation Lab and the Radical Innovation, Team Processes and Leadership project. Her most recent book The Employee-Organization Relationship (Applications for the 21st Century) was published by Routledge and is especially relevant in light of this year’s conference theme. Jacqueline Coyle-Shapiro has published in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. She is currently Senior Editor at the Journal of Organizational Behavior and was previously a Consulting Editor for Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. She is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Journal of Management and the Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Practitioner-PC Scholar Session and Resulting Journal Submissions: In the collaborative session, local practitioners will share their expert forecasts of the challenges they see for organizations in the future. In break-out groups, conference participants will further probe the future problem with one practitioner, discuss possible implications for the PC, and develop strategies to future-proof the PC against that focal issue. Groups will reconvene to share a summary of their ideas and generate additional discussion. Finally, PC scholars will then discuss how the resulting practitioner-informed content from the collaborative session can be developed for publication in one practitioner journal (e.g., Organizational Dynamics) and one academic journal (e.g., Organizational Science).

Elevator Pitch Session: This exciting session will provide attendees with an opportunity to gain valuable feedback on their work-in-progress from knowledgeable colleagues. Further, this session will enlighten all participants on the cutting-edge psychological contract research being conducted by our colleagues around the globe, opening the door for new international collaborations. Participants should be prepared to discuss a 3-5 minute ‘elevator pitch’ about their new or ongoing research ideas.

Networking Opportunities: The conference schedule will provide ample time for extended discussions and networking. In addition, a welcome reception is planned for the evening of Sunday, April 6th and a conference dinner is planned for Monday, April 7th. For those interested, a guided tour of the Ford manufacturing plant will be conducted on Wednesday, April 8th. During registration, please be sure to indicate your intention to take the tour so arrangements can be made. The cost for each person on the group tour will be $26 USD.

Awards

As in previous years, we will be presenting two awards: one to the Best Paper and one to the Best Early Career Paper. Winners will be determined by the conference organizing team. Please be sure to specify if you are an early career researcher during registration.

To register, please go to our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/2025-bi-annual-psychological-contract-pc-small-group-conference-tickets-1061880606479.

The standard conference fee is 400€. A reduced fee of 225€ has been arranged for Graduate Students. The registration fee includes the welcome reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, refreshment breaks, and the conference dinner.

If you have travel restrictions, please let us know and we will try to arrange an alternative way for you to participate.

Submissions of original work will undergo blind review by the scientific committee comprised of the conference organizing team and senior scholars in the PC field.

Submissions should be in “expanded abstract” form, not to exceed 2000 words, and adhere to APA formatting guidelines (e.g., double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font). Email submissions should contain two documents: (1) Title page including all author details, and (2) Anonymized extended abstract. The abstract should include discussion of the: purpose, rationale, design/methodology, results (except for conceptual pieces), limitations, implications, and originality/value. In the abstract, authors should also indicate how their paper relates to the conference theme.

Please send submissions (indicating desired presentation type) by January 20th, 2025 to [email protected]. Notification of acceptance will be provided by February 7th, 2025.

Conference Organizers

Amanuel Tekleab, Ilitch School of Business, Wayne State University

[email protected]

Yannick Griep, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University

[email protected]

Samantha D. Hansen, University of Toronto Scarborough and the Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto

[email protected]

Johannes M. Kraak, Centre of Excellence for Sustainability, Kedge Business School [email protected]

Host or Publisher Amanuel, Yannick, Samantha, & Johannes