The psychological contract and job insecurity of temporary employees contracted to a health insurance company

Abstract

Extensive research on the experience of the psychological contract and job insecurity of temporary employees has taken place internationally. However, no studies were conducted in South Africa focusing on the psychological contract and job insecurity of temporary staff employed by a Temporary Employment Service Provider. There has been a proliferation of firms involved in Temporary Employment Services since 1983 in South Africa and the industry has grown exponentially since 1996. To accomplish the objectives of this article, literature and empirical research was used. A survey questionnaire was used to assess the demographic information and to measure the experience of the psychological contract and job insecurity as to determine the correlation and difference in experience by temporary personnel in a South African health insurance company. A cross-sectional design was used to asses interrelationships among variables within the target population (N= 149). The psychological contract questionnaire determined the personnel's experience of specifically employer obligations. Further objectives included determining the degree to which the psychological contract is related to job insecurity levels, their involuntary or voluntary status and their demography. A further objective was to make recommendations regarding the same to the Temporary Employment Industry. The results showed that work promises, work atmosphere promises and management promises were largely perceived to be kept and organisational promises were half kept. Factors of job insecurity related strongly to factors of the psychological contract, particularly job insecurity factors relating to threats to present tenure and optimism of future tenure. The literature study has shown that voluntary status has a moderating effect on job insecurity but the empirical study has shown that this effect was marginal in this case study. Demography was not found to show a significant difference on the employees' psychological contract and only showed a relation to job insecurity on face value. Several recommendations related to the findings were made to Temporary Employment Service Providers.