IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ate/journl/ajbev3i2-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Generational Change: An Empirical Exploration of the Gen Y's Workplace Expectations

Author

Listed:
  • Megan Nelson
  • Kristian Braekkan

Abstract

The study was designed to empirically capture expectations of new job seekers and their perceived obligations and expectations as they enter a multigenerational workforce. Specifically, we utilized psychological contract theory to study differences in transactional and relational elements among graduating college seniors entering their first jobs, and the extent to which opportunistic careerism, expected tenure, and earning potentials influenced the contract formations. The sample (n= 405) were graduating seniors from a state university on the east coast of the United States and all belonged to Generation Y (also referred to as the Millennials). Contrary to existing theories, the results did not reveal that today's young job seekers exemplify "selfish" behaviors (i.e., expecting more from their future employer than they are willing to reciprocate). However, the data did suggest that individuals entering the workforce with an "opportunistic" mindset viewed their first job as a stepping stone for future employment and career opportunities, while those scoring lower on careerism endorsed greater loyalty and relational elements, which may not be that different from behaviors among other generations. Earning potential appeared to correlate with both types of psychological contracts (i.e., transactional and relational). However, we found that careerism did moderate and strengthen the relationship between earning potential and transactional contracts. A discussion of the results is included, in addition to limitations of the current study, and recommendations for future studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Megan Nelson & Kristian Braekkan, 2017. "A Generational Change: An Empirical Exploration of the Gen Y's Workplace Expectations," Athens Journal of Business & Economics, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER), vol. 3(2), pages 123-142, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ate:journl:ajbev3i2-3
    DOI: 10.30958/ajbe.3.2.3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.athensjournals.gr/business/2017-3-2-3-Nelson.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.30958/ajbe.3.2.3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jackie Coyle‐Shapiro & Ian Kessler, 2000. "Consequences Of The Psychological Contract For The Employment Relationship: A Large Scale Survey," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 903-930, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Protsiuk Olga, 2019. "The Relationships Between Psychological Contract Expectations and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Employer Perception," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(3), pages 85-106, September.
    2. Chih-Ting Shih & Cheng-Chen Lin, 2014. "From good friends to good soldiers: A psychological contract perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 309-326, March.
    3. Kraak, Johannes Marcelus & Lunardo, Renaud & Herrbach, Olivier & Durrieu, François, 2017. "Promises to employees matter, self-identity too: Effects of psychological contract breach and older worker identity on violation and turnover intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 108-117.
    4. Thomas Zagenczyk & Ray Gibney & W. Few & Kristin Scott, 2011. "Psychological Contracts and Organizational Identification: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Organizational Support," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 254-281, September.
    5. Sally Sambrook & Delia Wainwright, 2010. "The Psychological Contract: Who's Contracting with Whom? Towards a Conceptual Model," Working Papers 10013, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    6. James Kwame Mensah, 2019. "Talent Management and Employee Outcomes: A Psychological Contract Fulfilment Perspective," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 325-344, September.
    7. Chieh-Peng Lin & Chou-Kang Chiu & Na-Ting Liu, 2019. "Developing virtual team performance: an integrated perspective of social exchange and social cognitive theories," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 671-688, August.
    8. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," DoQSS Working Papers 18-10, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    9. Anna ROGOZIÑSKA-PAWE£CZYK, 2015. "The Dynamic Character of a Psychological Contract between the Superior and the Employee (According to Empirical Research)," Economia. Seria Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 18(2), pages 271-284, December.
    10. Yoshiko DeMotta & Sankar Sen, 2017. "How psychological contracts motivate employer-brand patronage," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 385-395, September.
    11. repec:iim:iimawp:13106 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Shaiful Annuar Khalid & Hassan Ali & Mohammad Ismail & Norshimah Abdul Rahman & Kamsol Mohamed Kassim & Rozihana Shekh Zain, 2009. "Organizational Citizenship Behavior Factor Structure among Employees in Hotel Industry," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 1(1), pages 1-16, June.
    13. Cam Caldwell, 2011. "Duties Owed to Organizational Citizens – Ethical Insights for Today’s Leader," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 102(3), pages 343-356, September.
    14. Gregory S. Dawson & Elena Karahanna & Ann Buchholtz, 2014. "A Study of Psychological Contract Breach Spillover in Multiple-Agency Relationships in Consulting Professional Service Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(1), pages 149-170, February.
    15. Ming-Chuan Yu & Qiang Mai & Sang-Bing Tsai & Yi Dai, 2018. "An Empirical Study on the Organizational Trust, Employee-Organization Relationship and Innovative Behavior from the Integrated Perspective of Social Exchange and Organizational Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, March.
    16. Cong Feng & Scott Fay & Kexin Xiang, 2021. "When do we need higher educated salespeople? The role of work experience," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 1391-1429, July.
    17. Bera Agata, 2021. "In Search of Outcomes of a Psychological Contract in Public Organisation," International Journal of Contemporary Management, Sciendo, vol. 57(2), pages 9-18, June.
    18. White, Michael & Bryson, Alex, 2019. "The Impact of High-Performance Work Systems on Employees: A Sectoral Comparison," IZA Discussion Papers 12527, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Riggle, Robert J. & Edmondson, Diane R. & Hansen, John D., 2009. "A meta-analysis of the relationship between perceived organizational support and job outcomes: 20 years of research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(10), pages 1027-1030, October.
    20. Josh Gullett & Loc Do & Maria Canuto-Carranco & Mark Brister & Shundricka Turner & Cam Caldwell, 2009. "The Buyer–Supplier Relationship: An Integrative Model of Ethics and Trust," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(3), pages 329-341, December.
    21. Christian Lukas & Jens Robert Schöndube, 2008. "Trust and Adaptive Learning in Implicit Contracts," FEMM Working Papers 08017, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ate:journl:ajbev3i2-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Afrodete Papanikou (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.athensjournals.gr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.