The Dual Role of the Manager as an Employee and as a Representative of the Organization in Shaping the Psychological Contract

The purpose of this manuscript is to expand the knowledge of the expectations of managers in the context of the employer-employee relationship. One of the assumptions is to recognize the alignment of opinions of managers playing the role of representative of the organization and employees in terms of understanding mutual responsibilities and expectations as a source of mutual realization of the psychological contract. A Paper and Pen Personal Interview survey was conducted with 178 managers surveyed from the perspective of the organization representative and 800 managers surveyed from the perspective of the employee. The research determined what expectations and obligations respondents set for themselves—which are most important to respondents, and which are less important. And also how the level of disagreement develops in terms of understanding each other’s obligations and expectations. As a result, perceptions of employees’ obligations are slightly lower than perceptions of employers’ expectations, while employers’ obligations are slightly higher than employees would expect. The survey provides guidance for managers on how they should manage their psychological contracts, as well as those of their employees. The observations noted take into account the need for flexibility of action with reference to the situational approach.