I never asked for this: How employees and employers maintain healthy relationships during times of social change
Reciprocity, or give and take, keeps relationships strong, including the dynamic relationship between organisations and individuals. Professor Helena Cooper-Thomas and Associate Professor Peter McGhee from Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau – Auckland University of Technology will investigate the changes in this relationship over time, with implications for workplace productivity
Employees normally sign a contract to work with an organisation, but obligations and exchanges often go beyond the formal agreement. This unwritten contract should be fair, and the give-and-take reciprocal. Evidence to date suggests that organisations breach this unwritten agreement more often than employees do. Organisations’ breaches often have negative outcomes for their employees, including ill-health, low productivity, and resignations. With current economic conditions making it tough for both employees and organisations, learning to get along better has never been more important.
With their Marsden Fund Standard grant, Professor Helena Cooper-Thomas, Associate Professor Peter McGhee (Te Aupōuri), and their team will study three specific types of organisations – tikanga Māori, faith-based, and non-profit. The member-organisation connections tend to be relatively strong in these organisations, making them a great fit for this type of study. The team will use a mix of methods including a kaupapa Māori approach to develop evidence-based strategies for maintaining strong relationships between organisations and members.
This research will address gaps in psychological contract theory, and could benefit society in Aotearoa New Zealand by providing practical evidence-based strategies to sustain and nurture constructive working relationships, and eventually, a more motivated, productive, and stable workforce.