Redefining the Psychological Contract in the Digital Era: Issues for Research and Practice

This book introduces the psychological contract as a multi-level contextual construct and closes some of the knowledge gaps on the nature of the digital era psychological contract. The digital era psychological contract gives rise to a new type of employer-employee relationship manifesting at the nexus between people and technology in a post-COVID-19 world. The book volume provides promising new approaches for psychological contract research, offering a rich compendium of reflections on the shifts in employer-employee expectations and obligations, as well as suggestions for future research and practice.

Chapter contributions are divided into four main sections:

1. The Digital Era: Contextual Issues and the Psychological Contract
2. Managing the Psychological Contract in the Digital Era: Issues for Organisational Practice
3. Managing the Psychological Contract in the Digital Era: Issues of Diversity
4. Integration and Conclusion

 Redefining the Psychological Contract in the Digital Era is an insightful examination of the evolving nature of the psychological contract, presenting novel insights into the antecedents, consequences, and facets of the new multi-level contextual digital era psychological contract. The primary audience for this book volume is advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in industrial and organisational psychology and human resource management, as well as scholars in both academic and applied work settings. Human resource managers and professionals will also have an interest in this book volume.

Melinde Coetzee (DLitt et Phil) is a professor in the Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. She has extensive experience in the corporate environment on psychological interventions pertaining to organisational development, human capacity and career development, and talent retention. Her research interests include issues of employability and career and retention psychology in multi-cultural work contexts. She served in the role of Chief Editor of the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology (2014 to 2019). She has published in numerous accredited academic journals. She has also edited, co-authored and contributed subject matter chapters to books nationally and internationally. She has presented numerous academic papers and posters at national and international conferences. She is a professionally registered Psychologist (cat. Industrial) with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and amaster human resource practitioner with the South African Board for People Practice (SABPP). She is a member of SIOPSA. EAWOP and IAAP.

Alda Deas (PhD) is a senior lecturer in Labour Relations Management at the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of South Africa (UNISA). She is also an author and co-author of several published articles in accredited journals.  She has also presented a poster at an international conference. She is registered with the South African Board of People Practices (SABPP) as a human resource practitioner.