The book seeks to make sense of the organizational experiences of the professional worker by drawing on several areas of research, including the psychological contract, social identity theory, theories of career development and retention. The author uses real-life examples and short case studies to situate psychological theory within organizations.

Bringing together a wide range of theory from social and cognitive psychology, organizational behaviour, organizational learning and the management of change, this text draws useful conclusions about important psychological processes.

Contracts in employment are of two kinds: the formal, written economic contract and the equally important, informal and unwritten psychological contract-how people think they should be treated. Both involve rights, obligations and expectations on the part of the employer and the employee, and a breach in one can have important effects on the other.

Contains 15 essays which discuss from diverse national perspectives obligations workers owe their employers and those owed by employers to their employees.

The Handbook of Career Studies brings together, for the first time in a single work, a comprehensive scholarly treatment of the major topics within the growing field of career studies. Drawing on the expertise of leading international scholars in each area of career studies, editors Hugh Gunz and Maury Peiperl have assembled a consummate set of writings, defining the field with a breadth of coverage and integration of topics not found elsewhere. From a view of the history of the field and a map of its elements to a set of essays about the future of careers and work, this volume provides the most complete reference available on the role of work careers in individual lives, institutions, and industries. Key Features • Offers a comprehensive history and structure of the field: Building on previous work done in the discipline, the editors and contributors take a fresh look at the origins and current structure of career studies. • Presents the most complete review of research available: An unparalleled set of prominent global contributors describes the state of work in their areas of expertise as well as offering a glimpse at future trends. • Extends subject area knowledge to other disciplines: By linking career studies to a wider set of disciplines through critical essays, this volume thoroughly explores future directions for career research, policy, and practice. • Includes an endorsement and critical comments on the state of the field: Edgar H. Schein, widely acknowledged as a seminal contributor to the modern field of career studies, provides a Foreword and a critical Afterword. Intended Audience This Handbook is an invaluable reference work for students, academics, and researchers in the areas of Careers, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Social Psychology, Counseling, Sociology, and Organization Studies as well as for human resource practitioners interested in the state of knowledge of the field.

How can we understand the relationship between employer and employee? What determines the give and take of such relationships and what happens when they go wrong? This text is a comprehensive overview of what is now the major way of trying to understand the employment relationship - the concept of the psychological contract.

Analyzes key critical HR variables and defines previously undiscovered issues in the HR field.